


Grease Stains

by DanieRose



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Drama, F/M, Falling In Love, Hurt/Comfort, Mystery, Organized Crime, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:28:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 28,425
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27187267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DanieRose/pseuds/DanieRose
Summary: Total Eclipse is the only home she knows. Izzy loves the work here in the shop. She helps builds the bikes and she does the most important part, she gives them the killer designs and paints them to match a person essence. She's a tough alternative version of Bella Swan. Izzy is not the girl you take home to mom, she's the girl who would gladly kick your ass given the chance. She has to be that way, she can't afford to be soft - to let herself feel - but she can't help but laugh and smile around "him". She wants his approval and satisfaction, like its the oxygen she needs to survive. Why?...what is so special about him?
Relationships: Alice Cullen/Jasper Hale, Carlisle Cullen/Esme Cullen, Edward Cullen/Bella Swan, Emmett Cullen/Rosalie Hale, Renée Dwyer/Charlie Swan
Kudos: 8





	1. Grease Stains

"I gave you the part of me. The only one that you could see. Tell me it doesn't mean a thing. Breath in Breath out. Some way, somehow. Say it all, say it now. Or don't say anything"  
-Don't say anything, Sleeping With Sirens 

Chapter One - Grease Stains

IPOV

"Iz, HEY IZZY" Sam pulls out my earbuds grabbing my attention. "The boss wants to talk to, like now."

"Where is he, did he say what for?" Aro never disrupts me while I'm working. He may seem like a big hard ass but those who know him well know he's got a soft side. He's also got a knack for designing the most elegant bikes. His boys work on the mechanics and I do the killer artwork.

"No he didn't say and he is waiting for you in his office." Sam walks away throwing his grease towel over his shoulder and continues working on the motor of our most recent bike. 

"Hey boss, Sam said you wanted to see me." Aro's office is what to be expected for a mechanic at heart. He's got parts and grease stains everywhere. His desk is covered in invoices and designs. He may be wicked at building kickass motorcycles, but his filing system - or lack thereof - have gotten us in trouble more than a few times. But he is the best there is so people keep coming back.

"Yeah I just got off the phone with a potential high profile client and he is coming by the shop later this week to take a look at some of our bikes here in the shop. I unfortunately have that family thing and won't be here."

"Okay, so why don't you reschedule when you get back in town?" I stand in the doorway with a look of annoyance that I was stopped while I was in the middle of my work. I hate being interrupted.

"Look Iz I know you hate me right now but I need you to run the shop while my brothers and me are gone. This client is really important and I need you on your best behavior. You know the ins and outs of the shop better than anyone else here, do this for me and I'll get that new airbrush you keep hounding me about, ok?"

"You've got to be joking! I've been asking for this for eight months. I got you boss man!" To get my hands on that new brush I would do just about anything!

"Thank you Izzy."  
With that I practically skipped my way back to my station. I could handle the guys and the shop for a few days no problem.

We did a lot of legit business here but every now and then the local family - the Blacks - would come in for repairs or custom paint job, the latter being the most frequent. Jacob came in here looking for a new design for his bike every few months. This month though he was getting his long time on again off again, girlfriend's bike repainted. I came up with a classic Rose and skull design. I knew Leah was gonna flip when she saw it, and as long as she doesn't piss Jake off again it would hopefully not be keyed up.  
  
******************************************************************************

I walked in Thursday morning carrying my coffee and my cut throat "I'm the boss" look and waited for everyone to sit down. This meeting was going to piss a few of the old timers off, but this was business and Aro left me in charge. 

"Alright listen up boys, the boss and his brothers may be out of town but I fully expect this place to run as smoothly as if they were all here. We have finishing touches on the Rose Skull bike and are assembling the Nightrider, where are we on the Manson bike?"  
James cleared his throat and began giving me the specks for the Manson bike, it sounded like we might actually be ahead of schedule for once.

"Perfect, I like what I'm hearing. Now I'm gonna be out on the sales floor most of the day with a potential client if anything happens or you need an opinion or whatever, text my cell. Only call me if it is a complete 911 issue. With that lets get to work."

I stood and walked to the front of the shop where we kept some floor models and parts on display. Aro also had a portfolio of all my work, anything from sketches to bikes I designed. He was proud to have me on the team.

"Hey Jessica, I'm expecting a client to come in today can you let me know when they get here I'm going to do some organizing of Aro's paperwork." Jessica was the cheerleader type, but her uncle was Aro and she needed a part time job to pay for a prom dress or some shit. All she did was answer the phones and write down information or checked out customers buying parts. Simple job for the homecoming queen.

"Yeah sure will do Izzy." Attitude clear in her tone   
She was the basic popular girl type. Curled hair and fake long eyelashes. She always painted her nails while working or reapplying lip gloss. She wasn't the outright bitch type but she didn't like my somewhat "Alternative" look as she called it.

I wasn't super model skinny but I was slim and had curves that guys drooled over. I had long dark brown hair, that looked black at times. I wasn't tan even in the slightest. I had tattoos on my arms and shoulders, nothing too elaborate but enough to show I wasn't a girly girl. My Daith piercing and industrial, made Jessica squirm every time I messed with them. It was a far cry from the girl currently painting her nails a bubble gum pink. EW.  
About twenty minutes into trying to separate what was pointless food recites and actual part orders, Jessica came in.

"Izzy there's a dude in the front lobby looking for the boss." I waved my hand telling her I'd be there in a second.  
When I made my way to the front I noticed a man about six foot tall peering through the bike portfolio.

"Good Afternoon sir, what can I help you with?" I stepped forward stretching my hand towards him.  
He took it and continued looking at the designs while replying, "Hello, These bikes are incredible."

"I'll be sure to pass on the compliment" peering over I saw he was looking at the picture of my most prized possession.

"Ahh, sorry I got lost in these. My name is Edward, I was wondering if I could speak to Aro."

He was absolutely stunning, if you like the while color kind of type. He had long copper colored hair that didn't lay down flat and did it's own crazed look. His eyes were a deep emerald green and that damn smirk. Holy fuck he was HOT.

Putting all of this in the back of my mind I went straight to business. "Hi Edward, I'm sorry but Aro is out of town along with his brothers attending to some family matters. However I'm Izzy and I would be glad to show you some of our bikes and sit down and talk about what you are looking for in a bike." Damn I could be sales person I got this shit down.

"Out of town you say, hmm. Okay well as I told Aro on the phone this will be my first custom bike. I have a few classics that were passed down to me but I wanted to get a feel for something I could call my own, if you know what I mean."

"I do, in fact. Why don't I show you some of our floor models to get a feel for the look you are going for." I tried to keep a professional face and prayed he didn't catch the fault in my voice. I was never the type to go after someone so clean shaven - or really any guys for that matter, I kept to myself. It was better that way.

Taking him through our selection I talked about each of our bikes and the different specks on them, trying to speak in laymen terms as much as possible, I didn't want to get too technical and have things go over his head. He seemed to know his stuff though, which surprised me. He knew what motor he wanted and we soon came up with a basic mechanical blueprint of what he wanted.

"Alright so we have the groundwork for the bike, do you know design wise what you want?" This was my domain. I love building bikes don't get me wrong, but my passion was the look not the mechanics.

"I really like the look of the classics, you know the old Indian styles but I want something that pays homage to those but is also a new sleek version. Not all shiny chrome and what not but modern and clean. "

I could see where he was going with that and I was already coming up with a fantastic outline in my head. "I am pretty sure I know where you are going, how about I draw some designs up and I will call you when I have something for you look at and we can go from there."

He looked at me with a unknown face I couldn't read, "You are the one who painted those bikes, the portfolio, those are yours?" He looked amazed. What a girl can't make a kickass bike?

"Damn, you have some wicked talent Izzy, I can't wait to see what you come up with." There was that damn smirk again.

Giving him a raised eyebrow I answered his question, "Yeah all the works you looked at today I designed and painted."

"Here is my personal cell, call me if you need anything else from me or when you get those sketches done. Day or night, I want to see them as soon as possible." We shook hands and I walked him to the front door. 

I pocketed his number and went straight to work. This was going to be one our best bikes yet. I had a good feeling about this one.


	2. Iron Maiden

"We've got so much to prove. Cause it's time to move on. And I'm stuck to let go, But then Wonderwall comes on the radio, I flashback to the night in your parent's yard, When we drank too much and we talked about god.."

-Growing Up, The Maine

Chapter Two - Iron Maiden

EPOV

I walked into Total Eclipse not sure what to expect. It wasn't in the best of neighborhoods, but the word around Chicago was that this was the place to go when looking for a new bike. I had a few old Indian models from my grandfather that were passed down to me when he died, but I wanted something just for me.

Walking up to the front counter I asked the girl who seemed way to concentrated on painting her fingernails an obnoxious Pepto-Bismol pink. "Hey miss I am looking for Aro I have an appointment to meet with him."

She looks up from her work and blows on her fingertips, "Yeah okay I'll be right back sir." She gets up and heads to the back I take this time to wonder around the sales floor.

I spot a big black book propped up on a stand and go over and take a look at it. It has these incredible sketches and pictures of motorcycles in it. Some of these look more like works of art rather than a simple bike someone rides around on, on the weekends. These are crazy good and I soon get lost flipping through the pages.

I hardly notice someone has walked up beside me until I hear the most angelic sound speaking to me. "Good Afternoon sir, what can I help you with?".

I shake the outstretched hand and respond. When I finally look away from the beautiful images I have to blink a few times to regain my focus. "Ahh, sorry I got lost in these. My name is Edward, I was wondering if I could speak to Aro."

She smiles politely at me and I hope she doesn’t notice the sweat that’s beginning to form on my face. This girl was like no other. She was wearing a blue V neck short sleeve and dark washed skinny jeans with rips in the thighs, though not like the fake ones you buy at Forever 21, but they looked like actual wear and tear. I could see a few tatts sticking out from under the top of the shirt. She had an elegance about her but her look screamed "I'll kick your ass if need be". I had never laid my eyes on such a beautiful women before. Her eyes were a deep rich chocolate brown. Her hair was almost black and hung over her shoulder down to her hip. Pull yourself together Mason.

Izzy as she introduced herself said that Aro was out of town and that she would be the one showing me around today and I sent a silent thankyou to whoever was up above that Aro wasn't here today.

I spent half the day talking with her about the different types of motors and was yet again astounded at the things she was saying. She clearly knew her way around a motorcycle. After we got the technical aspects of what I was looking for down we headed to the back office.

"Alright so we have the groundwork for the bike, do you know design wise what you want?" Izzy had the most amazing smile that lit up her face when she started talking about designs.

I cleared my throat a little and began telling her what I had in mind. "I really like the look of the classics, you know the old Indian styles, but I want something that pays homage to those but is also a new sleek version. Not all shiny chrome and what not but modern and clean. "

This just seemed to make her that much more enthused and something finally clicked in my head. The book out front, could it be that this little minx was the one behind those pieces of art.

"You are the one who painted those bikes, the portfolio, those are yours?" She gave a questioning look like a was insane or something before responding that she was the one behind them. I was entirely intrigued. I wasn't one to hit on a girl. That was my brother Emmett's domain, but I handed her my cell number and told her to call me day or night about the bike.

******************************************************************************

I got home from work the next day and plopped down on the couch entirely exhausted. I didn't get much sleep, I was up all night thinking about the girl from Total Eclipse, Izzy.

She had seemed so familiar to me like I had met her somewhere before, but I just couldn’t put my finger on it. I spent most of the night flipping through old yearbooks to see if I could jog my memory. I even tried to look her up on FB, not finding a single hit. What kind of person these days doesn't have a social media account? Of course I hardly ever get on mine unless someone tags me in something or I am completely bored out of my mind at the office.

I eventually passed out from exhaustion and woke up when my phone started to buzz. "Hello?"

"Hey big brother how are you?" My sweet little sisters voice greeted me through the phone.

"Ah Alice, I've been better. What about you little sis?" I stifled a yawn and got up to stretch my legs and look for something to eat.

"I'm doing pretty good, Jasper wanted me to ask you if you wanted to come over for bit tonight."

"Ahh I'm sorry I am going heat up some dinner and then go crash in bed. I am pretty wiped out from today."

"Okay Eddy get some rest and we'll see you next week for family dinner over at mom and dad's. Good night" I could hear the disappointment in her voice. I loved my sister, but I was too damn tiered to try and drive across town.

I hung up the phone and stuck some leftover pasta and sauce in the microwave. I walked down the hall to my room and put on some shorts and comfortable t-shirt for bed.

My dad always told me that I could be whatever I wanted to be. He never once made me feel as though I had to go into the family business. He chose to go to med school and become a doctor, and he was pretty damn good one at that. I on the other hand loved the idea of helping Grandpa with the family business. Our family owned a lot of upper east side of Chicago. We mainly made our money with our security business though we did own a number of night clubs and other local stores.

The Black's were our rivals. Way back in the day they used to work alongside us, but during a drop off Grandpa Mason was double crossed by his best and most trusted advisee. Ever since then The Black family gained land on the west side. On the outside everyone knew them for their expensive exotic imported car lots. But if one looks a little closer the Black's had their hands dirtied in some counterfeiting

They have been trying to get at us for years, but we always see them coming and stop them before they even have the chance to come up with a significant plan.

Grandpa Mason used to be the head of the family and when he passed away my older brother Emmett earned the title. I ran our head office and worked on security features. I had a knack for computers and when I was 15 I came up with a computer program that could monitor our systems, block out hacking attempts, and even self-destruct if the need ever arises. It was then that Grandpa Mason brought me in completely.

I have made significant improvements to my original design but we still use it today. Emmett wanted to patent it and sell the software, but I convinced him that keeping this technology to ourselves would be beneficial. Grandpa agreed so we sell everything from hacking software, to hired body guards. We do thorough screening of everyone who works for us and have trackers implanted in every vehicle and persons.

It's a good gig, and we even cater to some of the government offices. I like what I do but it can be daunting at times. Long hours in the office working on new software and updating our own. It can get pretty lonely coming home to an empty house. But with my line of work I tend to have trust issues and though I've gone on my fair share of dates, I just never found that one person I felt I could be myself around.

Flashes of Izzy's smile go through my mind. What is it about her that I can't get out of my head. I seriously need to get a girlfriend. It's been almost a week since I was in Total Eclipse, I was beginning to worry that she wasn’t going to call me.

******************************************************************************

IPOV

I was startled awake when someone opened the garage door to the shop. I fell asleep at my station again, I was working overtime trying to finish the designs for Edward's bike. I had this idea running around in my head all week and needed to get it down on paper before it went away.

I sat up stretching and reaching in one of the drawers for some deodorant and put on a clean shirt. I looked over the work I had poured myself into last night.

"Damn Izzy, I think this is one of your best ones yet.." Aro stands next to me mesmerized by the sheer beauty of it. He hands me a coffee as well and I am eternally grateful.

"Yeah I think you're right, hopefully your client likes it." The body was that of the old classics but the paint had killer detail into it. It was gonna have a black and grey undertone to it but through the black were going to be silver leaves and vine fleur-de-lis kind of vibe to it punching through, so it would look like the silver was an overlay of metal on the dark background. It was elegant and masculine at the same time it was classic but modern.

"Iz, if this guy doesn't like the design you came up with I am going to have you make this bike for me." he grabbed the sheets of paper and spread them out on the table so you could see every part. He then began taking pictures for another page in the portfolio no doubt.

"If you pull this off the way I know you can, this bike is gonna be one hell of a ride." Aro walked away leaving me to my things.

I grabbed the sheet and headed for the meeting room so I could call in our client. I spread out the designs side by side along the table and threw my hair in a side braid so I didn't look like I slept here, yet again.

"Hey Izzy have you called our client yet?"

"Not yet I was just about to though, why what's up?"

"I just wanted to have Ciaus and Marcus take a look at it before he gets here." 

"Holy Fuck" Both of them managed to say at the same time. Marcus had his hand covering his mouth while Ciaus just stood there mouth wide open. I was waiting for a fly to land on his pierced tongue.

"I think you have out done yourself here Iz." Marcus says walking over giving me a side hug.

"Yeah Iz, this is some next level shit here." Ciaus finally speaks, looking like a kid in candy store.

I can't help but give myself a mental high five. "Thanks you guys, I'm calling it Iron Maiden. Now shoo so I can call Edward and get this bike into motion."

I pull out my Android as they all leave. I scroll down to Edwards name and hold the phone up to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Edward this is Izzy from over at Total Eclipse. I just got done with your design for your bike if you want to come by the shop and take a look."

"Yeah I got time I'll be over there in about 20 mins" He sounded pretty excited on the phone and I couldn’t wait to show him what I had come up with. Hopefully he was gonna love it as much as I did.


	3. Family Feud

"I'm not complaining that it's raining. I'm just saying that I'd like it a lot more than you'd think, If the sun would come out and sing with me"

Vices and Virtues - Panic At The Disco

Chapter Three - Family Feud

EPOV

My heart felt like it was going to beat right out of my chest. The moment I heard that angelic voice I knew just who it was, Izzy, the girl who had been haunting my dreams for days. I dropped everything I was working on at the office and drove right over to the shop.

I nearly scraped the shit out of my Volvo driving like a mad man into the parking lot of Total Eclipse. I couldn't wait to see her. I mean I can't wait to see the design, pull it together Mason.

"Hello, I'm here to see Izzy about a few designs. Is she around?"

"Yes, she told me you'd be coming in. Right this way I'll take you to our conference room." Jessica got up from behind the desk and lead me through one of the doors in the back of the shop.

The room had a huge oval shaped desk with a giant flat screen at the end of the room. The walls were covered in framed pictures of what looked like signed pictures of famous clients and their bikes. Damn they catered to a lot of high society clientele.

Spread across the table were a bunch of sketches, I started inspecting the work of art that was in from of me.

"So what do you think? The majority of the bike will be black with this bright Iron design pushing through so it pops and looks like a metal overlay." Izzy had come to stand beside me and explaining her work. She had the most beautiful smile across her lips and she could have said anything at that point and I would have agreed with her. She was gorgeous.

"Hmm, Ah yes I absolutely love this I can't believe this is what you came up with. Far past my expectations!" That seemed to catch her attention and she looked up at me with her chocolate brown eyes, shining with glee.

"Really, there's nothing you want to change because I won't be butt hurt if you did, this is your bike." She started rummaging around the papers.

"Izzy it's perfect."

You're perfect.

"I'm glad you like it Edward. I'll have the boys start getting the frame assembled right away. Aro thinks this is my best work yet."

I looked down at this short beautiful girl with admiration in my eyes, "I think this is the start to something amazing and incredible and unlike anything I've seen before."

"Sorry I wasn't here right away, I had another client come in last minute for something." She had an annoyed look on her face and I was growing curious.

"Is everything alright?" I pressed.

"Yeah just some un needed over appreciation." She began balling her hands into fists and popping her knuckles. "Alright well if there isn't anything more I will go give this to Aro so we can get your bike started. Are there any questions about cost, because this is going to cost a pretty penny and I don't want to catch you off guard."

I giggled to myself. She had no idea how much money I had, I honestly couldn't give a crap but it was family money. And well business is good. "Don't worry about the cost, I'm well aware this isn't a cheap process. Money is not an issue angel." I slipped her my sly grin.

"Good because I can't wait to get my hands going on this. Thank you for coming in I'll walk you out."

******************************************************************************

IPOV

After I called Edward, James came in telling me that someone was here to see me. Who the hell could this be?

I walked out of the conference room and out to the shop floor and there he was. Jacob Black, he was leaning on the table trying to get Rose's attention no doubt. Manwhore.

"Jacob how nice it is too see you, what brings you in today?" Laying on my business smile I tried to keep my face smooth and the sarcasm out of my voice as much as I could.

"Ahh IZ! Hey girl, I just wanted to give you giant thanks in person for my girls bike she really loved it." He moved closer to me and I just walked over to my station, taking inventory of my paint and supplies.

"Yeah well it was my pleasure Jake."

"I'm sure but I was wondering I could take you out to dinner, you know to thank you properly for all that you do for us." I could feel his breath on the back of my neck and I really wanted him gone.

"As sweet as that is I'm sure that Leah, you know your girlfriend, wouldn't take to kindly to that idea."

"Oh come on Iz, it's just dinner. Besides what she doesn’t' know won't kill her. What do you say?"

"Look I have a client coming in to look over some sketches, go home Jake." I left him standing there looking rather pissed off. Get a life.

When I got back to our conference room Edward was already there looking at what I hoped would be the designs for his bike. I had worked so hard on these and I really wanted Edward to like them. I needed him to like them, please say you like them.

"So what do you think? The majority of the bike will be black with this bright Iron design pushing through so it pops and looks like a metal overlay." I started explaining the design I came up with. I could feel his eyes on me while I spoke. I was afraid to look up, afraid my face would give away what feeling were raging inside me at the moment. Focus girl, he is just another client. A really attractive client. Oh god is he wearing a suit, kill me now.

I couldn’t help look at him with absolute glee when he said he loved the design. Iron Maiden was a go. I felt a breathe that I wasn't aware I was holding let out.

"Really, there's nothing you want to change because I won't be butt hurt if you did, this is your bike." His eyes were looking so deep into mine I felt like he could see all my darkest secrets. What was it about this guy that had my inside turning to mush.

I told him that I would have the guys start working on it right away and my mind flashed back to Jacob at my desk and I got chills running down my spine. This was not the first time Jake had tried to ask me out. But he wasn’t getting any more subtle about it.

Edward must had noticed something wrong and asked if everything was alright. No everything is not alright. I could handle over persistent guys, but Jake just didn't seem to get the hint. I was worried he was gonna start getting a tad more forceful with his offers.

"Yeah just some un needed over appreciation." I balled my fist in order to get my breathing under control. I started talking about cost of the bike so I could distract myself.

"Don't worry about the cost, I'm well aware this isn't a cheap process. Money is not an issue angel." There he goes with that freaking half grin of his.

Did he just call me "angel"? Oh dear god he has no idea what he is doing to me. BREATHE IZZY BREATHE!

After I calmed down I thanked him for coming all the way out here and began walking him out. We got to the front lobby when I heard a voice from behind calling my name.

"Iz there you are, I still want to talk to you…who the hell is this?" He stopped dead in his tracks and stared at Edward with this immense hatred. If looks could kill Edward would be ash at my feet.

"Jacob I thought I told you to go home. My answer is no and it is always going to be no. Get out of here before I have Sam drag you out." I was severely pissed off that he didn't leave when I told him to.

"Izzy I think you need to rethink what you are saying. Don't say something you will regret." He began walking very slowly in my direction and I had a feeling things were about to get very ugly.

"Jacob who the hell do you think you are threatening me. Get your ass out of the shop right now!" Edward had closed the little distance that was between us and was standing directly behind me with his chest pressed into my back. I could feel this electricity coursing through my body.

"Black you heard the girl, I think you have over stayed your welcome in this fine establishment or do I need to remind you of the accords." Edward was nearly growling when he said Jake's last name. How the fuck do these two know each other?

"Jacob Black I just got off the phone with your father and he is expecting your ass back home this instant. Go the hell home and stop harassing my employees and customers!" Aro came out of nowhere with tire iron at the ready. He looked livid as hell. Holy Fuck what was I standing in the middle of?

Jake sombered off in the other direction going out the back door with Aro in tow. Edward cleared his throat and I became very aware of how close we were.

"Are you alright there Izzy, was he the guy who was bothering you earlier?" My heart skipped a beat with concerned he seemed to be.

I shook my head to clear it and tried to make sense of what I just witnessed. "Yeah I am fine, Jake is just a small nuisance in my day. Are you alright it looked like you two were getting ready to rip each other's throats out."

"Just some family drama, nothing you need to concern yourself with. I'm just glad I was here though. I have known Jacob Black and his family my entire life Izzy and Jake is not a good guy to get involved with. I've seen his past girlfriends Iz and let's just say that he doesn't play well with others. You are far too pretty and too good a person for him."

What about you?

"Thank you for your concern Edward, but I can take care of myself. I deal with guys like Jake on a daily basis, it's part of the scene when you work with bikers."

"I am sure you can Iz I have no doubt in that. If he bothers you again call me, can you promise me that?" His face is too pretty to be this sad.

"I'm sure Aro has put the fear of god in him, but if he tries bothering me again I will call if that makes you feel better."

"Yes thank you."

"Have a good day Edward and try to not scar any kitties today with that temper of yours." He smiled at that and I was glad the tension thinning in the air.

"I wouldn't dream of it, Good day Iz."

I watched as Edward pulled out of the parking lot in his silver Volvo. I was going to need a stiff drink when I got home, today just went from bad to worse.

You got Edward to smile today though. That I did, more than once.


	4. Chapter 4

"So maybe tonight we'll start all over. Like it's the first day of our lives. Right here and now, no second chances. Maybe we'll finally get it right. Maybe tonight. Maybe tonight.

Maybe Tonight - The Summer Set

Chapter Four - And We Danced

IPOV

To say things were stressful the next few days was the understatement of the year. Aro came back into the shop after the fiasco with Jacob and he was so angry I could see the vein in his forehead clear as day. Everyone in the shop was walking around on tippy toes. Apparently Aro had seen Jake messing around in the shop when I was having my meeting with Edward and Aro called Billy, Jake's dad, and told him to get his son off his property and banned him from the premises. No more bikes for him, sucker.

The week was finally over and I was glad to leave for the weekend and head home to my shitty little apartment.

"Hey Iz, you got any plans for tonight?" Rose came bouncing over. I liked Rose, she was probably the only friend I really had here. She was totally gorgeous with her long blonde hair and blue eyes. She had that classic look to her but don't let the lipstick and hairspray fool you, Rose knew her way around bikes and cars. She was the best mechanic we had at the shop.

"Nope not really, why you thinking about going out tonight?" As much as I wanted out of the shop I really hated my apartment, so if she wanted to go out I was game!

"Hell yeah I just heard of this new bar that just opened up, Breaking Dawn. I was thinking about going and scoping the place out. If anything we can go and make fun of the baby crowd"

"Sounds like a date miss Hale. I'll meet you at your place in an hour or so?" I was in desperate need of shower if we were going out.

"I will leave your ass behind if you are late again, see you in a bit." Rose strode off and headed downtown towards her apartment complex.

I got on my bike and headed in the opposite direction towards my shithole. I parked my bike in the back shed and locked the pad lock. I lived in the crappiest part of town but this was all I could afford when I first moved here. Thankfully my lease was about up and I was not planning on renewing it.

I said hello to Miss Sue, the old lady who lived below me on my way in. She was the land lady of this crap establishment. Occasionally I would come over and help her clean while she baked me cookies and other goodies. This woman could cook and I enjoyed the company.

My place wasn't the worst thing in the world, It had working plumbing, air and heat. It definitely could be worse. Miss Sue always made sure everything was kept in good working condition. It was a simple open floor layout. I had a couch and book case that outlined the living room area and then a dresser and old clothes line that I strung up in the corner to hang some of my nicer clothes that I didn't want wrinkled. On the other side of the room was the kitchen area complete with a gas stove and decent sized yellowed refrigerator. There was a big window that I fashioned a window seat for out of an old ottoman that was my favorite spot. I sat there on the weekends sipping my coffee watching the rain and read.

I stripped out of my clothes and headed to the bathroom that was right off of the living room, and took a much needed hot and steamy shower.

I decided to curl my long hair since it was already humid out from the recent rain storm we had. After my hair was in big ringlets down my back I walked over to my "closet" aka close line to pick out an outfit for tonight. I decided on dark washed skinny jeans, with a deep red silk top that showed off what little cleavage I had. Then I grabbed my leather jacket and some black knee high boots and headed to Rose's place.

When I arrived I waved to the doorman who let me in without even bothering to ask who I was seeing. I came over here enough that most tenants probably thought I lived here.

Rose was waiting in the lobby and we walked out the back to her convertible.

We arrived and were shocked at the amount of people that seemed to be in line to get in.

"Jesus Christ, who the hell ever owns this place is sure gonna be rich. This place is packed!" How the hell were we going to get in.

"Come on I know the bouncer, he's one of our customers. Hopefully he'll let us in without waiting in this ridiculous line." Rose grabbed my hand and dragged me to the front of the line.

"Hey Roy, you think you could let me and Izzy in for old time sake?" She leaned into Roy with her big blue eyes and I'm pretty sure she even batted her eyes at him.

Roy blushed at Rose, "Ah hell Rose, anything for you guys. Have fun you two." he winked at us and let us in without a cover charge.

******************************************************************************

EPOV

"Edward I need you to come with me tonight to make sure that our security system is all set for the new club, it won’t take long then you can go enjoy yourself." Emmett was nose deep in papers for the new bar the family just opened up.

"Yeah sure that's fine I'm off this weekend anyway I'll meet you over there when I get done in the office." I walked back over to my desk and finished signing recites and closed up my office in order to head out to Breaking Dawn with Emmett. I was in need of drink after what this week had entailed.

After my run in with Jacob at Total Eclipse we had the whole place on lock down. I had wanted to call Izzy and make sure she was alright but I was completely swamped with work and barely had enough energy at the end of the day to make dinner and shower.Going out tonight would be a nice change of pace after I checked on the security and had the thumbs up from Emmett. I planned on drowning myself in some high dollar liquor. 

I was upstairs looking at all the feeds and checking the bouncer's earwigs and mikes when Emmett came walking in.

"Hey big bro, everything looks to be in order on this front if you have any issues I'll be down at the bar."

Emmett really needed a vacation, he looked completely wiped out. "Why don't you come join me when you're done, you look like you could use a few shots."

"I might take you up on that Ed, I'll see you down there in a bit. Go have fun." He plopped down at the desk and pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes.

This place was crowded as fuck and I prayed the fire department wouldn't come in and check the body count. I strode over to the bar, weaving through the dense crowd of people. After ordering a beer I looked around, Emmett sure did a good job with this place. It looked like we were gonna make tons from this place.

Just then I felt a spark in the air and I didn't even have to look far to see that the girl of my dreams was here. She was dancing and laughing with some blonde. God she looked sexy as hell with her curled hair cascading down her back. It wasn't long into my stare fest when she looked over and looked me dead in eyes.

I tried to play it cool and turned around in my seat and continued sipping my beer. It didn't matter because a few seconds later she was standing right next to me.

Smooth one, let the girl catch you staring at her.

"Two shots of Patrone please." She slipped the bartender money and turned my direction. "So you gonna say hi or am I gonna have to force it out of you." She had the cutest smirk on her face and one eyebrow was raised.

"Hello Izzy." I smiled her way and could see her dilated pupils, she had already been drinking.

"Ah It does speak! So you gonna sit here all night or you plan on being social." God I loved that sarcastic tone of hers.

"I am being social, I am having quite the conversation with this short little brunette." I replied coyly. This could be fun talking to a drunk Izzy.

She huffed at my remark, "I am not short, you're just overly tall for a human being jerk butt."

"Jerk butt, why a lady shouldn't use such foul language." I said laughing, she was grinning and I heard her slight giggle. This was getting fun.

"Hey Eddie, you gonna introduce your friend here." Emmett came up extending his hand, "The names Emmett."

"Well hello Emmett, I'm Izzy. And I think my friend Rose is getting sober waiting for her drink, if you guys would like to join we've got a table over there." And with that she winked my way and headed back to the blonde.

"Emmett that's the girl from the bike shop I told you about."

"You don't say, well she has an extremely attractive friend over there and two open seats come on lets go join the ladies." He waggled his eyebrows at me and we grabbed a few drinks and went to sit with the girls.

"Rose this is Edward, he's the one we're making my awesome bike for." Rose was just as far gone as Iz was. "And this big guy here is Emmett…"

"I'm Edwards older brother and part owner of this here bar, Rose was it?" He put on his full charm and began talking with Rose.

"Speaking of my bike how are things going at the shop?" I sat down next to Izzy, downing the rest of my beer and started on my whiskey.

"The bike is going great actually, despite the heavy air around the shop." Izzy had already finished her shot and was spinning the glass on the table.

"Oh yeah, what the hell has been up Aro's ass all week Iz.?" Rose took her attention away from my brother for a moment to talk about Aro having a stick up his ass.

"Yeah he has been a real ass since he kicked Jake out the other day and banned his goons from the shop." Iz replied waiving down the waitress and ordered a large plate of cheese fries. "You guys want some I'm starving."

"I heard Sam talking to Caius and Marcus the other day, and I guess Aro had caught Jake in his office looking through some his files while he was on the floor. Anyway Jake ran out and Aro called his dad, Billy up." Rose started in on the cheese fries and I looked over to Emmett who had the same look as me. What the hell was Jake up to now.

"Damn, that must have been when he came running into the lobby and got into an ego match with this one here," Izy pointed over to me "You said you knew the Blacks, any idea as to what he was looking for in Aro's office?" She was had her mouth full of cheese fries and was staring at me for an answer. All I could do was look to Emmett.

These girls had no idea who the Blacks were, and probably didn't know the ties they had to our family either.

"Well I know his dad is notorious for taking advantage of dyeing business and forcing them under his thumb with promises of wealth, but all he does is loan them money and then when the business gets up and running he comes back for his money and then some." Emmett spoke up from across the table.

"That's fucked up, what kind of person does that to people?" Rose had a look of disgust written all over her petite face.

"Not someone you want to get to know." I added.

"The shop isn't in any financial trouble is it Iz?" Rose asked.

"Not that I saw from any of the books, we're so far in the green it's crazy."

"Well enough of this boring talk I want to dance, come on Mr. Club owner let's see those moves of yours." Emmett and Rose headed out onto the dance floor and Emmett grabbed her by the waist and they began swaying to the music.

My buzz was starting to wear off and I needed another drink. "I'm gonna grab a shot, you want one?"

"Hell yes, Iz needs a bigger buzz!" We walked over to the bar and ordered a round of shots before heading out to the dance floor ourselves.


	5. Personal Demons

"Well if you were lost, I'd bring you safe back home. And wrestle with your demons, so you can be left alone"

Sorry, Not Sorry - Mayday Parade

Chapter Five - Personal Demons

IPOV

I woke up the next morning dreading the day before it even began. I rolled over and pulled the covers over my head just wanting to stay in bed all day. I already had the day off so what was the point in getting out of bed? Just then my phone beeped indicating I had a message. I flipped off the covers and looked to see who wanted what.

Hey it's Edward, you left your wallet in my car. I can drop it off by the shop later today? -E

I won't be in the shop today, how about tomorrow? - I 

It had been two days since me and Rose went out to bar and met up with Edward and his brother Emmett. From my understanding Rose had Emmett trapped at her apartment till late Sunday evening. Not that I was entirely surprised, those two had hit off pretty well.

I couldn't remember the last time I had that much fun. It was like a dream, Rose had left with Emmett that night and Edward offered to drive me home. Such a gentlemen. Who said chivalry was dead.

Okay see you tomorrow Izzy - E

Since the universe wasn't going to let me stay under the covers all day I got up and headed to the kitchen for some coffee. I then opened up my laptop and opened up my parents case file. Maybe I could find something I missed before.

It was 10 years ago today when my parents were both murdered. I remembered that day like it was yesterday.

My mom was cooking dinner and I was in the living room waiting on my dad to get home from work. He was the chief of police in my hometown of Forks, Washington. Forks was a small quiet town and the only serious thing that went on was kids breaking into the high school swimming pool on the weekends.

It was storming pretty bad that night and my dad came in soaking wet. I remember my mom badgering him about tracking mud through the house again. He just smiled and kissed her and asked what was for supper. My mom could never stay mad at my dad that long. She just handed him a towel and told him to go wash up.

We had dinner as normal and after I finished my homework, I kissed my parents good night and went off to bed.

I will never forget the horrid scream that came from downstairs that night. It sent chills down my spine just thinking about it.

I could hear my dad shouting at someone and then two loud gun shots. My dad always told me if I ever heard anything going on in the house to hide and don't come out till he or mom came and found me.

Our house was very old and was once used to hide booze during the prohibition era. My closet had a false wall in the back and as I heard footsteps coming up the stairs, I ran to my closet and hid in the small alcove closing the wall so no one would know where I was.

However, my parents never came to get me that night. I passed out at some point during the night and when I woke I came out of my hiding spot and made my way down stairs.

Before I hit the bottom of the steps I could see why my parents never came to find me. They were both laying on the floor of the living room in very disjointed positions. There was stuff thrown about everywhere.

Everything else form that morning is a blur, but according to my parents file I was found wondering the streets in bloody clothes. Authorities quickly found my parents bodies and I was taken into child services.

Police tried everything they could but never came up with any significant leads and the case soon went cold.

My parents didn't have any siblings and both sets of my grandparents had died before I was even born. I didn't have any other family besides my mom and dad, who were both gone now.

I was put into the foster care system where I bounced around from home to home until I was released on my 18th birthday. Driven by need to find out what happened that night I went back to Forks and broke into the police station where I downloaded everything they had on my parents case.

I went through my dad's old cases to see if there was anything that could have left someone angry with him enough to come after him. But nothing even remotely dangerous or suspicious popped up. Forks was a quiet little town.

My dad's old work journal held the only key I have found in the last six years. He mentions pulling over a car for speeding. The driver seemed nervous and when he went to go radio in for some back up the car took off. A week later he was on patrol through the outskirts of town when he noticed a car on the side of the road. When he pulled up to it he recognized it as the same car he had pulled over previously.

A case was never officially opened but my dad thought that it was odd and decided to take pictures of the car just in case. Upon further inspection of those particular pictures I noticed a bumper sticker slightly scratched off. The company's name was hard to make out but the sticker had a distinct city landscape outlined on it. It was the Chicago city skyline.

******************************************************************************

EPOV

I woke up early Monday morning thinking back on Friday night.

I had gone to Breaking Dawn for Emmett and wound up running into Izzy again. We danced for what seemed like forever loosing ourselves to the music. The bartender announced last call and Rose took Emmett home, leaving Izzy without a ride back to her apartment complex.

I volunteered to taker her home and after slight reluctance, Izzy caved and I lead her to my car.

She looked good sitting in the passenger seat of my Volvo. I wanted to reach over and sweep her hair behind her ear, but focused on the road so I wouldn't do anything too stupid.

I drove her back to her apartment and spent the rest of the weekend nursing a hangover from hell.

As I got in my car for the first time since Friday night I notice something had fallen between the passenger seat and the middle console. I reached my hand between the slight crack and retrieved a small, leather wallet.

Curiosity getting the better of me I opened it up.

Isabella Marie Swan, wavy dark brown hair and chocolate eyes stared back at me. It was Izzy, only with less tattoos and very innocent looking.

She must have dropped it in here when I dropped her off that night

Without a second thought I went to text her and headed off to work.

I wonder why she goes by Izzy instead of Isabella..

"Hey Eddy, how was your weekend?" My brother greeted me as I got of the Elevator, pulling me back to the land of the living. "Because I spent my weekend with a blond goddess..man I am in over my head with this girl."

"Hey Emmett, I really don't want to hear details about your extended sleep over, no offense."

"Aww come on Eddy, you're no fun!" Emmett slapped my shoulder and walked back to his office leaving me to my thoughts.

Izzy wasn't going to be back at the shop till tomorrow and I couldn’t wait to see my tattooed angel again. There was just something about this girl and I couldn’t get her off my mind since the day we met.

I spent the day working in my office going over the information about Jacob I heard from the girls. I knew how the Blacks worked. They took advantage of the less fortunate without giving a rats ass. This is how they did most of their business. If it didn't benefit them in any way they didn't bother with it.

What was Jacob doing snooping around in Aro's office. I did a check on the business's finance situation and like Izzy had said, they were so far in the green they could afford to open up a second shop no problem.

So if they weren't having money troubles why was Jacob there?

Was he trying to dig something up for blackmail?


	6. Emerald

"So far away from knowing where I am going. I am trying hard to find out who I am. They all see that I don't know what I am doing. I say they don't hardly understand."

When You're Young - 3 Doors Down

Chapter Six - Emerald

EPOV

When I got to Total Eclipse the next day I had to keep reminding myself that I was only here to give Izzy back her wallet, this was not a social visit, or was it?

It's not like you're getting lunch with her..Dammit I should have asked her if she wanted to get lunch. God I am an IDIOT.

I walked in and noticed Aro was standing behind the front desk rather than Jessica..odd.

"Hello Edward what brings you by?" Aro walked over to give me a tight hand shake, "You're not backing out on your bike are you, Izzy has been working overtime to try and get it done."

I laughed at his accusation, "I would have to be a complete moron to back out on that beauty, no I am here to see Iz actually, she left something in my car over the weekend and I told her I drop it off for her." I had only talked to Aro over the phone before I saw him storming out of his office at Jake, I was still slightly surprised by his demeanor. Over the phone he sounds like any white collared professional, but seeing him in person its different. He has that typical mechanic persona but underneath all the grease you can tell he comes from a pristine background.

I wonder who his family is.

Curiosity Killed The Cat, Edward.

"Ahh well you are more than welcome to come on back, I can show you the progress of your bike while you are here and then we can stop off over at Iz's station." He turned and began towards the back not bothering to look and see if I was following him or not.

They had the frame of my bike mostly finished and were assembling the motor, even in pieces it looked like a dream and I couldn't wait to see the finished result. I was gonna be the envy of everyone.

After talking about what all needed to be done and a timeline of about another week or so before painting, we finally weaved around to the far corner of the shop by the garage doors.

My breathe caught in my throat when I laid eyes on her. She had her hair tied up in a messy bun on top of her head. She was wearing a strappy tank top, completely showing off all her tattoos in the process. Izzy had a bandana covering half of her face but I could still see her gorgeous eyes. They were almost sparkling with excitement. She was leaning forward with her airbrush, looking sexy as hell, even with goggles on.

She didn't even notice we had come up in front of her she was too preoccupied with her work.

Gotta love her concentration

Aro walked closer to her careful not to touch anything and waived a hand in front of her face to grab her attention. "Hey Izzy, IZZ!"

"Huh, oh hey Aro, what's up?" She leaned back and arched her back, popping out her chest in the process.

This girl is going to be the death of me, control yourself Mason.

"Damn Iz this is looking awesome, Edward is here to see you." He stepped aside so I was in her line of sight and I could have sworn I saw her blush slightly.

"Hey Iz, sorry to mess up your concentration, I just wanted to make sure you got this back." I walked over to where Aro was previously standing.

Aro left and Izzy took her goggles off and pulled down her bandana, chewing on her lower lip in the process.

"You mind if we step outside I need some fresh air." She got up and ducked under the garage door.

I followed her lead. When I stood back up she was smirking at me. "What's so funny Swan?"

She was shaking her head giggling to herself. "Oh nothing, you just looked like a giant trying to play limbo with that door. I was waiting for you to fall on your ass at any second."

"It's not my fault you are all midget sized here!" I replied laughing, imagining what I must have looked like. I didn't blame her I did almost fall.

I handed her, her wallet and she thanked me. Or at least I thought she did, I was too busy staring at her hair shining in the sunlight, it took on this slight red tint too it.

"So have you had lunch yet?" That caught my attention.

"Hmm? Oh no I was gonna get something on the way back to my office, have you?" I was mentally slapping myself for not asking her sooner.

She grinned , "No. I couldn't because this giant bronzed hair guy stole my wallet this weekend." raising her eyebrow at me as if to challenge me.

Two could play at this game. "I did not steal it, her Highness dropped it before scurrying away. It was quite irresponsible of her if you ask me."

One point for me

"Her highness was plastered because his majesty kept buying her shots! Sounds to me he was trying to make her irresponsible, Hmm?"

Five points for her. Damn

"Well I apologize, why don't I make it up to her and buy her lunch for stealing her wallet and then perhaps dinner Friday, for getting her plastered?" I hoped I didn't sound too desperate.

"Hey Izzy you out here I got you some lunch since you can't find your card, oh hey Edward." Rose walked out holding a greasy paper bag. Damn her.

"Thanks Rose you're the best." She grabbed the bag and Rose walked back inside. "Well lunch will have to wait, but her highness will accept dinner, pick her up at 7pm sharp." And with that she winked my way and followed Rose back inside.

And then it struck me.

She said yes to dinner. FUCK YES.

******************************************************************************

IPOV

Edward just asked me to dinner… and I said yes!

What the hell am I doing, I can't go out with him..

Why the hell not?

He's HOT, and you ain't getting any younger..

"So you gonna tell me why hot pants was here?" Rose leaned over breaking me from my mental fight between myself.

I set my sandwich down and took swig of my coke. "He was dropping off my wallet, apparently I left it in his car Friday night er Saturday morning."

"Mhmm..so you 'dropped' your wallet in his car you say?" She was giving me her BS look.

"Rose I swear I had no idea where it went, I was so trashed that night I could have sworn I left it in the club."

She put her hand up in surrender. "Okay, okay if you say so Iz. So you gonna have dinner with him then?"

"How did you know he asked me!" She must have been standing there longer than I thought.

"It doesn't matter, answer the question. Are you going on a date with hot pants, yes or no" She looked at me intently. Fully capable of standing there all day until I answered her.

"Who is hot pants and why does he get a date with Iz" James chose that moment to start listening.

"He's no one James go back to work." Rose dismissed him with her hands still staring at me. He looked over at me a few seconds before walking away again.

"So?"

"God you are relentless." I rolled my eyes and nibbled on my fies.

"Stop dodging the question missy! I want an straight answer and I want it now!"

I caved. "Yes! Alright, you happy now? I said I would go out with him this Friday and he's picking me up at 7." Rose could be exhausting sometimes.

"Eeep! Finally Iz gets herself a real man!"

"Oh shut up it's just dinner!" I playfully slapped her arm. We spent the rest of the afternoon discussing what I should wear and how I should do my hair. Rose was all about presentation.

I could hardly concentrate the rest of the week. I was gonna have dinner with Edward this Friday.

His emerald eyes kept creeping back in mind, they were almost dancing with the sunlight when we talking outside Tuesday. He was mesmerizing. Dazzling. Rose was right, he was a real man. He had a real job, though I wasn't sure what it was exactly, but no one wears dress pants just because.

He was classy, with an edge to him. He may seem all high dollar on the outside but it takes a certain kind of person to know about motorcycles and ride them. He had a edge. And Izzy liked.

It was finally Friday, today was the day, but it was dragging onnnn.

Rose would walk by almost every hour with a countdown.

"Six hours and counting."

"Five hours till hot pants comes a knockin."

"Then there was three!"

Finally five o'clock rolled around and I started to put everything up for the day.

"It's The Final Count Down! Two hours to go, get your ass out of here!" Rose shooed me to the door and I almost ran to my bike."

I raced home as fast I could, showered and put on the outfit me and Rose had discussed. Edward had texted me to dress nice, because he was taking me somewhere special. That meant I'd be wearing a dress.

I put on my Marilyn Monroe dress. It looked like the dress she wore for her famous wind-blown pose, except mine was a deep navy blue color. It made my skin pop, and because he said fancy, I put on some waterproof concealer to my exposed tats. 20 mins later I looked like a respectable young women, and not a hood rat.

Don't get me wrong I love my tats and in my line of work it's not uncommon to have a few. But this was Edward and he wasn't from my world. Which slightly stung my ego.

I walked over to my jewelry box and picked up my mom's old emerald necklace. It was just some costume jewelry she picked up somewhere, but it was the only thing I had left of her.

I put her necklace on and immediately felt safe, like she was here with me.

"I miss you mom" I walked over to my phone and saw a text from Edward saying he was on his way.

I'll be there in 10 mins. - E

Okay I'll see you in 10 ;) - I

I can't wait ;D - E

Even in text form he knew how to make me blush. Damn him.

I did some finish touches to my make-up and made sure I didn't miss a spot on my tats. Final look down and I looked damn good. Rose would be proud.

Exactly at 7 I heard a honk and after looking out the window I grabbed my clutch and headed down the steps.

Edward was leaned up against a sleek black, 1967 Chevy Impala. He looked like a god and I forgot how to breathe.

That's it he's trying to kill me. Good God.

I blinked a few times and walked towards the hunk of a man. He was dressed in a slim cut suit with no tie. He looked fine as hell.

"Good evening miss Swan, you look incredible. Absolutely stunning." He stood up straight and opened the passenger door and helped me in.

"You look rather spiffy yourself there Mr. Cullen." I tried to keep my voice calm and hide the blush that had broken out across my face.

Edward Dazzling Cullen was going to be the Death of me.

We had a light conversation on the way to the restaurant and I focused on breathing normally. He was so close in the car and I could smell him. He smelt like heaven, soap and tad bit of spice. It was intoxicating.

"So where are we going?" I asked wanting to satisfy my curiosity

"La tua cantante I hope you like Italian, we are headed to my favorite place. It's a tad ways outside of the city but it's worth the drive. " Edward smiled over at me and I couldn't help but smile back, he was infectious.

"Italian is my favorite actually, and I heard that place is amazing. I've been dying to try it!"

"I'm glad, you're gonna love it!"

When we finally arrived I was stunned. The place looked like a million bucks, no wonder he said dress nice.

"How rich did you say you were?" I asked half joking. This place looked like it cost more than I made in a month

He laughed and offered me his hand, "I didn't." I took it and stepped out of the car. He handed the valet his keys and kept my hand in his.

If I thought the outside looked expensive, the inside screamed it. The place looked like what I would imagine Italy would look like. It was rustic and fancy, with velvet red carpeting and matching red colored roses on each table.

Edward greeted the host like they were old friends while my head was still reeling at the magnitude of it all.

We headed to our seats and the host handed us two menus, stating our waiter would be right with us.

"This place is beautiful, Edward." I looked over my menu, nothing was priced. This had to be super expensive.

Edward looked up from his menu and smiled. "Not as beautiful as my date."

There was the damn smirk again. Fuck.

I blushed and was thankful the waiter came up so I could distract myself.

"Good evening, my name is Palo and I will be your waiter tonight. What can I start you both off with."

Edward rattled the name of a wine that sounded French and the Palo went to fetch it.

"So do you know what you want to eat, I've been here a lot so you can ask me if you have any questions." He looked somewhat bashful.

Was he nervous?

I smiled over at him and tried my best to speak coherent words. "I think I'm going to have the mushroom ravioli."

"That's a good choice."

Palo came back and poured us our wine and took our orders. He then disappeared and I didn't have my menu to hide behind anymore.

Thankfully Edward looked just as nervous as I felt. How could he be nervous?

"So did you rob a bank or win the lottery?" I tried to keep my voice light and not shaky

"Neither, why do you ask?" He tilted his head in a confused questionable look on his sculpted face.

"Oh I'm just curious as to how someone can afford to come her more than once and not be flat out broke. This place costs more than I make in a month, maybe a year." I raised my eyebrow at him.

He shook his head with a smile playing on his lips, "Oh miss swan. My family has mounds of money, maybe one day I'll tell you." He said playfully.

I put my hands up in surrender. "Alright Cullen, you win this round. So how was your week at..where do you work?"

"I'm the CEO of Twilight Security. It's a private security company, we do most of business with the military, but we have several private clients as well."

"Oh yeah I heard about them, they're the real deal, if you want something protected, you guys are the way to go."

"Yes we are. So are you from the Chicago area?" he had his hands clasped beneath his chin, intently listening to whatever I said.

"Nope, I was born in a small town in Washington state. I moved around a lot in my teen years and decided to move out here when I was 18, you?"

"Born and raised here. My dad is a Surgeon over a Chicago Med."

We stayed like that asking each other questions about schools and relived our goofy teen years. It was so easy to talk to Edward, it hurt me to see his face fall when I dodged the questions about my parents. I didn't want him knowing I grew up in dozens of foster homes.

I could tell family was important to him by the way he talked about them, especially his younger sister Alice. I loved the way his eyes lit up talking about her.

We finished our plates and I was stuffed full like a thanksgiving turkey. I also needed to stretch my toes, these heels were killer.

"Would you like to come over for a drink, or coffee? I don't live too far from here and it's still pretty early." His face was hopeful and I couldn't resist. Hell it was only 8:30.

"I would love to." I smiled back at him and he started the car. He wasn't kidding when he said he didn't live far. Like 10 minutes away. He practically lived down the street. And his house was huge.

He drove up the drive and parked his Impala.

His house was huge. Something out of the show Cribz. Holy hell.

He took my hand once again and we headed around to the back. His yard was just as gorgeous as his house. He had a pool and large wood patio, with an outdoor bar. He walked over to the bar and started making drinks, I kicked out of my heels. I was leaning on the rail looking out over the manicured paradise. He even had a fountain complete with twinkling lights strung across the patio.

"Here you are." Edward handed me small martini glass and clinked them before taking a drink. I followed suit.

"This is good." I took another sip and looked over at him.

"It's my sister's recipe."

"I wanted to say thank you for tonight. I've had a really good time Edward."

"You are very welcome Izzy. And you know you didn't have to cover these up." He stroked my shoulder where one of my tattoos would have been. I could feel the warmth coming off his skin and it felt electric.

"Psshh, year right. I would have stuck out like a sore thumb if I hadn't." I turned my entire body towards him.

He did the same to me. "Izzy you are absolutely gorgeous, don't ever think differently." His hand trailed across my collar bone to chain of my necklace. He held the stone between his first finger and his thumb. "You know for someone who was astonished at the richness of the restaurant, your wearing quite the stone around your neck."

I looked down at my mom's costume Emerald. "What this old thing, nah it's just some costume jewelry my mother had."

"Iz, my mom deals with jewels and high dollar artifacts all the time for her charity, I know a real Emerald when I see one, and you my dear have quite the rock here. Extreme clarity. Very expensive."

"You really thinks so?" I unhooked the chain from my neck and let Edward take it inside to get a better look at it.

"I'm no expert Izzy, but I would have this appraised if I were you." He handed me back the necklace.

I really looked at it. There was no way this could be real. "I wouldn't even know where to go for that.."

"I could have my mom take a look at it if you want?" I looked up at him. He was so close.

I took a deep breathe, "Would you really do that?"

He smiled down at me with his crooked grin. "Anything for you."

He took the Emerald and placed it on the desk next to us. And then he reached out and stuck a stray piece of hair behind my ear. I shamelessly leaned into his touch.

I looked into his deep eyes. A girl could get lost looking into those pools. I couldn't take it anymore I needed to know what lips felt like on mine.

With what little courage I had left I leaned closer to him, closing the gap until we were millimeters from touching. I could feel his warm breathe on my lips. Edward then held the side of my face with his hands and kissed me softly at first but once I responded in kind, he deepened the kiss.


	7. Survival of The Fittest

"If I were you, I'd put that away. See, you're just wasted and thinkin' bout the past again. Darlin' you'll be okay"

The Enemy - Pierce The Veil

Chapter Seven - Survival of the Fittest

E POV

I woke up the next morning with a smile on my face. Last night was incredible, I still felt like I was dreaming. I walked over to the coffee pot and poured myself a cup. I knew that this thing with Izzy wasn't just about mere attraction. There was just something real about her. I wasn't one to date a slew of girls like my brother did, that just wasn't me.

Looking down at Izzy's necklace I dialed my mother's number. "Good morning my favorite son, how are you?"

"Good morning mom and I thought you told Emmet he was your favorite?"

"You both are my favorite sons, speaking of Emmet he said you went out on a date last night. Who is she?"

"Remind me to have a talk with him later" I replied shaking my head.

"Oh c'mon Edward he didn't want to say anything but you know how your sister is." My sister Alice had a way of getting information out of anyone. She could have made a career out of it if she wanted.

"Yes this is true. Actually I was wondering if you were free this afternoon I have something I want you to take a look at for someone."

"Of course dear, why don't you come by for lunch this afternoon. Alice is dying to see you and by see I mean harass you about your date." Oh lordy.

"I'll see you in a few hours then mom, tell Alice it's none of her business, Love you"

"Love you too and easier said than done."

That little pixie of a sister of mine is going to be the death of me. Before I could put my phone away it buzzed with a message from Alice.

Hey big brother mom just told me your coming by for lunch I can't wait to hear about your date! -A

Around one in the afternoon I pulled into the parking lot of the gallery where my mom and sister worked as consultants and director of antiquities.

I promised Izzy that I would have my mom look at her necklace and if that meant being harassed by my adorable sister in the process then I would do just that.

When I walked in Gretchen, one of the secretaries greeted me. "Good afternoon Edward, your mother and sister are in the back room. She said to go right back when you got here."

"Thank you Gretchen." I smiled politely back. I continued through the back doors looking around for the dynamic duo. "Mom? Alice? Hey you guys back here?"

My mother's voice called out from behind a stack of crates. "Over here sweet heart!" Her and Alice were nose deep in some papers, probably cataloging a new showing. "Alice why don't you take these up front to Gretchen so she can get them sent out."

"Alright, I'll be back in a flash." Alice walked towards me and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before heading to the front lobby.

I walked over to my mother Esme and wrapped her in sincere hug. It had been awhile since I had been by the house and I hated not being around more often. "How are you mom?"

She smiled and embraced me tightly. "Oh I am just fine. What brings you by?"

"Well since you asked. I was wondering if you would take a look at this for me." I pulled Izzy's emerald out my pocket and placed it in Esme's hand.

She walked over to her desk where she kept a magnify glass to look at gems with. After what seemed like forever she finally looked up at me. "Edward where in the world did you get this?"

The look on my mother's face was stone cold. "It belongs to a friend of mine, why is something wrong?"

She quickly rushed over to a stack of books and began flipping through them. She pulled out a tall canvas covered book and laid it on the table in front of me. The book was full of old newspaper articles and there on one of the pages was a picture of what looked like Izzy's Emerald. "Now I can't say for certain, but from the clarity and size of this Emerald, I would say that we are looking at the Ephraim Emerald. It went missing from Ephraim Black's estate a few decades ago and no one has seen it since. Now I am going to ask you again, where in the hell did you get this?"

I couldn't believe what I was seeing. How in the hell did Izzy's mom get a hold of this and call it "costume jewelry." Iz is not going to like this. The Black's and my family go back generations. Not in a good way either, and now I'm holding their families' most prized possession.

"Mom I am going to need you to keep all of this to yourself. It is very important you understand me. Do not tell Dad, Alice, or Emmett. Is there any way you can confirm the authenticity of this?"

Esme looked sternly up at me. I could tell she wasn't comfortable with what I was asking, but there was no way I was gonna throw Izzy's name out there unless I was absolutely sure. "I will keep this quiet for now Edward, but you have a lot of explaining to do later on. I can't personally confirm this myself but let me take a picture of it and send it too some colleges. At this point the less I know about where this came from the better."

"Thank you."

After Esme took a few pictures of the necklace I quickly wrapped it up and headed back to my place. This thing needed to be locked up tight and I needed to get a hold of Izzy.

******************************************************************************

I POV

I came in early on Saturday to touch up the finishing touches to Edward's bike. I was still smiling like a complete idiot when I heard my phone going off.

"Hello?, Edward hey I was just getting ready to call you. Your bike is finished and Aro was wondering if you could come by Monday and pick it up. Perfect, hey could you hold on a sec?"

Just then Aro's pounding voice came rumbling through the shop. "I DON’T CARE WHO THE HELL YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ARE I TOLD YOUR SCREWBALL OF A GRANDSON THAT YOU WERE NO LONGER WELCOME IN MY SHOP! NOW GET THE HELL OUT!!"

"Look Edward there is some serious shit going down at the shop. I gotta go, I'll see you Monday." I hung up the phone before Edward had a chance to reply. Just in time to see Jacob and who I assume was his father and some other older gentlemen leave Aro's office. All of them looking seriously pissed off. I ducked down behind my station in order to steer clear of Jacob's site.

As they walked out the exit I overheard the older guy talking to Jacob. "Are you a hundred percent sure that Isabelle Swan is alive?"

"Yes grandpa I'm sure, she's the spitting image of Renee."

I wasn't sure how long I sat there. My vision had faded out at some point and I was lost to what I had just heard. Who the hell were these people and how the hell did they know my real name. Not even Aro knew. Finally the sound of Aro's footsteps brought me back to reality.

"Izzy are you still in here?"

I stood up and brushed my pants off. "Yeah boss over here."

Aro walked over looking stern as ever. He was a big guy and not someone you would wan’t to tick off, ever. "Look Iz I need you to lock up I have an appointment with a security company and I'm late. Here are the keys, did you call Edward about his bike?"

"Uh yeah he said he would be by sometime Monday to pick it up. Aro can I ask who those guys were?"

"Izzy you are one of the best damn mechanics and paint specialists I know. You are also like a daughter to me so I am only going to say this once. The less you know about the Black family the better. Chicago isn't like your hometown, we have our slew of criminals. And sometimes those criminals walk in and expect you to bow down just because they want you to. I don't. Lock up, go home, and don't come back here till Monday understood.?"

"Yes Aro, I understand. I was finished for the day anyway."

Aro walked out the back door and I proceeded to lock up the garage. I raced home and dug out my laptop and went to work digging up every bit of information I could on the Black's.

There was no way I was gonna let this go. Not when they could have a connection to my mother.


	8. Enemy Lines

"Now, Now that I see. I've lost so many battles from wars that you waged on me, but this is the moment, it's time you know it. I'm gonna make you my enemy!"

The Enemy - I Prevail

Chapter Eight - Enemy Lines

I POV

I spent all of the night and most of the day Sunday reading and going over everything I could find on the Black family. I can't believe I hadn't heard of them sooner. I've spent 10 years looking for a connection here in Chicago and this whole time it was right under my nose.

It took some time hacking the FBI database, but almost everything I needed was laid out in their folder like a shiny present on Christmas morning.

Ephraim Black and Levi Mason Cullen use to be partners in the biggest Mob family that spanned across most of the United States and parts of Mexico and South America. They ran the war on drugs, guns and dirty money for almost half a century.

Turns out while on a routine drop off at one of their ports in Seattle, Ephraim betrayed his longtime friend Levi causing the two families to split up. In the 90's there was an all-out war between the two families in the city limits of Chicago that ended in a truce and the city being evenly distributed between the two families.

The Feds had racked up a bunch of lawsuits against the Blacks, but had little to nothing on the Cullen family. The Cullens were definitely more careful with how they ran things.

With all the lawsuits and arrest records for the Black family there was one ticket that stuck out the most. A speeding ticket for a Jacob Black in the town of Port Angeles.

Port Angeles wasn’t' too far from Forks or from Seattle. I did a little digging into the DMV database and found a picture of the car Jacob was driving.

I pulled out the pictures from my dad's journal and compared the two pictures. I'll be damned. Jake was the guy my dad pulled over. He must have ditched the car in hopes of not getting cited with another ticket.

Jake must have only been about 17 or 18 back then. One question solved, but why were they stalking the house and what connection did my parents have to them.

I still had a ton of things to find out, but this was a huge lead in my parents case. It was getting late and I had to be at the shop tomorrow to open for Aro.

EPOV

I set my phone and looked at my wrist watch. I had a meeting with Aro at the office and if I didn't leave soon I was going to be late. As much as I needed to talk with Izzy, Aro sounded pretty desperate on the phone when he made the appointment.

I sat down in my office just as Aro stepped off the elevator. He looked extremely vexed. "Good afternoon Aro what can I help you with?"

"Hey Edward thanks for seeing me on such short notice. I need some serious security help." He plopped down in one of the chairs that sat in front of my desk.

"Well why don't you start with why you called me and then we can go from there."

"Look I know who your family is Edward and I don't care about that. If you ask me the Cullens are the good guys compared to the Blacks. I know you had a run in with Jake at the shop a few weeks back and I want to thank you for keeping Izzy out of the way. Anyway the reason I'm here is because I caught Jake in my office that day looking through one of my filing cabinets.

His father has been trying to dig up anything he can use against me so he can take over my shop. I don't have anything to hide and the shop makes good money so I'm not in any financial troubles, but I still need to get the Blacks off my property and make sure that they can't break into my shop again."

"Well on behalf of the Cullen family consider your shop in our protection. I can get you some good locks for the doors, the kind that involve more than a simple key. I would also go ahead and update the shops security cameras. Now what kind of safe do you have in the shop?" I would have to make sure and call Emmett to make sure that we had some of our guys patrol the area around the shop for the next few weeks just to be extra safe.

"Thank you Edward, and I have a hidden safe in the floor of my office. Only my brothers and me know about it and I'm the only one who has key to it."

"Okay the safe should be okay. I do want to have some of our men keep a look out for things in the area. I will call my brother Emmett to have him send some men out. "

Aro seemed to be more at ease with hearing this. His business shouldn’t have to suffer from the Black's greedy hands.

"Why don't we go down to the warehouse and get your stuff and go over how everything works. I'll send the truck over tomorrow morning to install everything, sound good?"

"Sounds great, thank you again Edward."

"It's my job Aro, and I know you and your brothers are good people. It's your business, it should remain yours."

I spent the next hour and a half going over how our operating systems worked and showed Aro all things I had talked with him about in my office. His demeanor definitely improved once he saw everything first hand.

Monday afternoon finally rolled around and I was headed to the shop. I had the guys install everything earlier that morning and now I was headed over to pick up my new bike.

I was excited to see my completed bike but I was also conflicted about telling Izzy what my mom had thought of her Emerald. In the end I decided not to tell her until we were certain.

I greeted Jessica and made my way to Aro's office. "Hey Jessica is Aro still in his office"

"Yes Mr. Mason go ahead back." She smiled up at me and continued messing with her phone.

I rounded the corner to Aro's office just as he was stepping out. "Oh Edward good you’re here. You ready to take your new bike home. Izzy put a lot of work into this beauty, I personally think it's her best work yet."

"I can't wait to see it."

We headed down to the shop floor and I couldn't believe what I saw. The drawing Izzy had originally showed me did not do justice to the finishing result. It was absolutely amazing.

The silver leaves and Fleur-de-lis design punched through the dark grey and black background. It almost looked like iron inlay more than the simple flat surface it was. It was beautiful and elegant but also manly at the same time. There were no fucking words to describe the sheer beauty to it. I was speechless for once in my life.

"Holy shit Aro…Izzy this is fucking incredible!" I ran over and hugged her lifting her off the ground.

She was laughing at me but she had no idea how gorgeous this thing was. "I'm glad you love it Edward but if you don't put my feet back on the ground I'm going to punch you." She had a way with words.

"C'mon Edward see how it feels." She pushed me towards the bike and I hopped on, revving the engine to life. Damn that purr.

******************************************************************************

I POV

Edward looked sexy and killer on his new bike. Like a god actually, I had to mentally remind myself to keep breathing.

In. Out. In. Out.

I helped Edward load his bike onto the back of his truck. I was kind of sad to see my masterpiece go. "Oh hey the other day you said you wanted to talk to me about something?"

Edward's face fell. "Oh yeah it was nothing, forget I said anything." He was hiding something.

"Well did your mom find anything out about my necklace?" Again his face was trying to hide the truth.

"My mom is having some experts check it out but she did confirm that it wasn't fake."

What wasn't he telling me?

I turned to let Edward leave. He didn't seem like he was in a talkative mood.

"Hey Izzy are you going to come out with us tonight?" Rose caught up with me next to Edward's truck.

"Ah Hell why not Rose. Let me guess Emmett is gonna meet us there?"

"Well of course. Speaking of Edward's brother..Hey Edward you gonna be at the club tonight?"

Edward looked from me to Rose. His face changed into something hopeful and I couldn't help but smile back at him. "If Izzy is going then yeah I could meet you girls there with my brother."

Rose clapped her hands and linked arms with me. "Then it's settled. See you and your brother in a few." Rose dragged me to her car. "Hey lock your bike up out back I wanna talk with you about something."

After I hid my bike in the shop I made my way back to Rose's car. "So what's up princess?"

We made our way back to Rose's apartment taking the side streets to avoid the evening traffic. "So basically Emmett and me have gone on a few dates now and well he wants me to come to dinner at his parents' house next week. And I'm sorta freaking out. I mean I'm not the kind of girl you take home to meet your mom, nonetheless the rest of your family. What am I going to do. I really like him, but I don't know."

"I will tell you exactly what you are going to do. You my dear are going to dress respectable and cute and you are going to walk right in there and win all of their hearts. You obviously have Emmett's in the palm of your hand. You got this. Just don't drink a whole lot and I think you can pull it off."

"Dammit I was hoping you would tell me to get sloshed."

"Rose calm down, it will be fine. Now on to the next issue."

She looked over at me with one eyebrow up. "What?"

"What the hell are we wearing tonight?!"

She immediately got excited "Oh girl I've got the perfect outfits for the both of us. Edward isn't going to know what hit him. Speaking of which how did your guys' date go the other night. I never got the chance to ask."

The two of us babbled on about the brothers all the way up until we met them at Breaking Dawn. Something felt off when we got inside though.

******************************************************************************

EPOV

I walked into the club and headed up to Emmett's office. I had briefed him about the security over at Total Eclipse earlier on in the day. "Hey Emmett, the girls are parking the car then they'll be in."

"Alright awesome" Emmett got up from his desk and shut down his laptop and locked up his office. "Hey there was some chatter about the Black's being on high alert about something. Have you heard anything?"

"You don't think it's about the shop.?"

Emmett shook his head and we headed downstairs to meet the girls. "No their saying something about a Swan. The chatter has been pretty cryptic. But the word Swan keeps coming up over and over."

We had a few of the Black's phones bugged and occasionally got wind of their plans often, making sure they weren't going to break the treaty we had with them. They stayed on their turf and we stayed on ours.

"Hey boys we got drinks ordered already." Rose leaned over and kissed my brother lightly on the cheek. The grin on his face as shameless. He had it bad.

"Aww what a cute little couple." Izzy's voice rang out over the music. She held out beers for everyone. She looked sexy as all hell. She was wearing a tight Black strapless dress that left little to the imagination, leaving her tatts on full display. She was a tattooed angel.

I took my beer and leaned towards her, catching a wiff of her shampoo in the process. "Killer dress your highness"

She smiled coyly up at me. "Why thank you, you don't look to bad yourself there champ." She adjusted my tie and turned her head towards the others. "Hey why don't you two get a room, some of us want to keep our drinks down."

Without breaking their lip lock action Rose flipped Izzy off playfully.

"C'mon Edward I want to dance." And with that we headed to the dance floor.


	9. Truth Speaks For Itself

9 - Truth Speaks for Itself  
"I know that this will break me. I know that this might make me cry. You gotta say what's on your mind, on your mind. I know that this will hurt me. And break my heart and soul inside. But I don't wanna live this lie."

The Truth - Good Charlotte

Chapter Nine - Truth Speaks for Itself

EPOV

Izzy was something else. The way that girl could sway her hips and dance to the music should be illegal. She had me under her control and we meshed together in the crowd. I lost count of how long we were out there. 

We got back to the table to order another round of drinks. I liked this relaxed version of Izzy. She was carefree and her smile light up the whole room. I couldn't help but be in a good mood when she was around.

We all sat there drinking and talking like we all old friends. Emmet and Rose had hit it off pretty well the other week and seeing him like this was refreshing. He never swooned over a girl before.

"Hey Eddy you going to be at the parent's house this weekend for dinner?"

I hadn't been over in a while and I know my parents had missed me. Esme had made it clear I was missed when I went to see her Saturday. "Yeah I should be there as long as nothing major comes up at the office."

Rose piped up "Oh goody I'll have a friendly face there, Emmet is taking me along." Now that was surprising, he never brought anyone to family dinner. Mom would be in for a treat.

"Well in that case I will definitely be there." I smiled at her for reassurance.

"Well shit Iz what are you going to do this weekend since Edwards bike is finished, you don't have any projects to work on." Rose looked over at Iz with a sad look on her face. I liked Rose, she was tough but her and Iz were as thick as thieves.

"Oh don't worry about me rose I have a lot of errands to run this weekend. Thinking about moving to a better side of the city so I might go apartment hunting." She smiled back genuinely.

"Speaking of apartments it's getting pretty late. Em why don't you say we get out of here?" Rose had my brother wrapped around her finger.

"I agree with you, we will see you this weekend Edward and good seeing you Izzy. Don't be a stranger." With that Em helped Rose with her coat and they walked hand in hand to the front door.

Izzy downed the rest of her beet and turned towards me. I responded in kind so we were just inches apart. Well Eddy we might as well be heading out as well." There was a lusty look in her eyes, she didn't have to tell me twice. I put her coat on her shoulders and we headed out to my car.

It didn't take long to get to her place and I did have to agree she lived in a crappy part of Chicago but it wasn't as bad some other places were.

"Do you want to come up? I don’t have a lot but I'm sure Rose left a couple beers in the fridge from the last time she was over."

"Of course, I'm not picky." I helped her out of the car and we headed up the stairs to her second floor apartment.

We rounded the corner and Izzy stopped dead in her tracks. I followed her gaze and saw that the apartment door was opened slightly.

"Is that yours?"

"Yeah. Who the fuck has the balls to break in here." Her earlier buzz was completely gone and in place was a furry glazing in her eyes.

I pushed her behind me and slowly approached the door. I pushed it the rest of the way open with my toe, her apartment had been ransacked. The cabinets were emptied and couch and bed were tipped over and things were flung everywhere.

Izzy rushed passed me inside looking both scarred and pissed off at the same time. "Son of a fucking Bitch they better not have taken it or I swear."

She walked over to where her bed use to be and lifted up a loose floorboard. "Thank god. They may have the balls to break in but they aren’t the brightest bunch."

"Izzy what the hell is going on? I think we should call the cops and get you back to my place. I don't want you staying her tonight."

She looked over at me like she forgot I was still here. "Yeah that’s fine Edward I don't want to stay here but I need to grab a few things and don't worry about calling the cops, it won't do any good."

Did she know something I didn't? "What do you mean, why?"

"Because I know who did this."

"Who Izzy?"

"Jacob Black and his gang of goons, who are not going to like it when I get ahold of them."

"Iz I don't think you know who you're dealing with…"

"Edward I know exactly who I am dealing with, just like I know that your brother is head of the Cullen family. Their rivals. What I don't know is why the fuck they ransacked my place."

She started grabbing the stuff out of her floor and piling it into a bag along with some clothes that weren't shredded. I was still stunned by what she had said. I went by Mason for a reason, so I could run out business without being tied to the Cullen name.

"Edward are you going to help me with this or just stand there like I have three heads all night." She handed me a bag and I helped her to the car with her things.

"How?"

"Look there are some things about my past that I haven't told anyone and some things that even I'm not aware of but if you really want to know I can show you when we get to your place. It's easier to show you." We were both quiet as we headed out of the city to my place.

******************************************************************************

IPOV

When I had Edward come up I thought we were gonna have a few drinks and continue our kissing from Friday night, but when we rounded the corner to my apartment door things changed.

We got inside and the whole place was a mess. I didn't have much but what I did have was mine and I was proud of it. I instantly became pissed off. I knew who did this. I knew who was behind destroying my home and they were going to pay.

Edward of course wanted to know how I knew about his family not that I could blame the guy but I couldn’t share that information without telling him about my family..the parts I knew anyway.

I forgot how incredible his place was even though I was here a few days ago my memory didn't do it justice. And if I thought that the backyard was beautiful, it was even more so when we walked into the front entrance. The person who designed this place was a real genius or an incredible artist.

He showed me to one of the guest bedrooms and I was glad to have the privacy, even it was just for a quick shower and change of clothes. It gave me time to think about everything I had to tell him and mentally prepare myself to go over my parents murder with someone.

About an hour later I gathered up my files and dad's journal along with my laptop and headed back downstairs where he was waiting in his study. Just looking at the desk reminded me of the passionate kiss we had just a few days ago, but now seemed like a different world.

He looked up from his desk when he heard me. There was something there in his eyes that he was trying to hide form me.

I took a deep breath and walked over to him setting everything out starting with my parents police file. He took in all the information attentively, nodding his head and asking questions every now and then. He didn't run away, he didn't look ashamed to know me, he just took everything in. Absorbing the information. When I finally got to the part about hacking the FBI database he stopped me.

"You did what now? How long did that take you?" He looked amazed at me. What a girl can't be good with computers?

"It wasn't that hard just a few firewalls and what not, I was in in about an hour or so and about another to come through all the files before I found this one."

"I know I shouldn't say this but damn, that’s just..wow. If you ever get tiered of working at the shop I would love for you to run some specs for my business."

"Your serious?"

"Well yeah, I mean the fact that you alone came up with all of this going off a car description and an old police record is just amazing. Not many detectives can follow through like this nonetheless a girl with no IT training. No offence."

"None taken but anyways as I was saying the FBI has a who file against the Blacks and from there I was able to tie the car back to the house but what I still don't know is why all of this occurred."

Edward looked up at me with solemn he definitely knew something I didn't. "I think I can answer you that question Iz. I didn't want to bother you with this until my mom was able to 100% confirm it, but you already know so much"

He turned and took out my necklace from the safe hidden in the wall. "When I went to see my mom she said she had seen this rock before, she deals with a lot of high priced jewelry and remembered an article about an Emerald that went missing. She pulled out an old newspaper clipping and sure enough Iz, the Emerald your mom had looked just like the one in the pictures. About two decades ago Ephraim Black had a priceless Emerald stolen from his home and the authorities never found out who took it or where it went. I don't know how your mom wound up with this jewel, but Izzy it is priceless and belongs to the Blacks."

"When I was at the shop Sunday with Aro I overheard him fighting with them and when they went to leave I heard the older guy, who I think might be Ephraim, ask if Jake was sure Isabella Marie Swan was still alive. Edward I haven't gone by my actual name since my parents were alive. Even my records for the shop just say Izzy."

"Wait you said your last name is Swan?"

"Yeah.."

"Fuck I need to call Emmett hold on." He reached for his phone and dialed his brothers number. It took a few times before he answered but finally did.

******************************************************************************

E POV

"Edward what is this about and can it wait I'm sort of in the middle of something"

"Emmett shut up for two seconds I know what Swan means. It's not a code for something. It's a person"

"What? How do you know?"

"Because I'm looking at her right now. Emmett, Izzy's real name is Isabella Marie Swan.."

It took Emmett a few seconds to respond. "Em you still there?"

"Are you absolutely sure? What would the Blacks want with Izzy?"

"Look Em, why don't you come by the office tomorrow morning and I'll let you in everything just go back to your evening I have Izzy at my place so she's not in any immediate danger but her place was broken into and destroyed."

"Fuck. Alright I'll meet you at your office tomorrow. Bye"

"Bye"

I turned towards this beautifully broken women. "Izzy I am going to do everything in my power to help you and protect you. You say that you knew who my family was and you still went out with us tonight so I take it you trust me on some level or you wouldn't be here." I took her into my arms and I would never let her go, as long as she'd let me.

"Edward I don't want to drag your family into my mess.."

"Oh sweetheart haven't you noticed that my family is already involved with them, this isn't going to make any difference."

"But.."

"No buts, Izzy I know that we haven't known each other long, but since the day I first laid eyes on you I knew I couldn't let you go. I was never one to go on dates or dance at my brothers club, but you make me want to have a life outside of Edward Mason CEO and business man. "

She looked up at me with her big brown eyes and I could tell she hadn't known love, not in a very long time. She had walls built up, but I was determined to bring them down one by one. Then she reached her arms around my neck and kissed me.

It started out slow and soon became heated and passionate. There was so much need and want behind that kiss. I did everything I could to show her that she was safe and protected. I held on to her waist and held her in my lap letting her feel what I felt for her.

When she finally broke the kiss she was crying. I lifted a hand to wipe her tears and hold her face. "Edward please don't leave me alone tonight. Don't leave me."

My heart broke for her. "Never beautiful, I'm here for as long as you want me."

She stayed curled up in my arms with her head on my chest all night long.

Her life was about to change in the most drastic of ways. There was no going back for her or me. I didn't know what the future held for this beautiful creature in my arms, but what I did know was that I wanted to be by her side through it all. I had to be here for her. She was wound tightly into my life and for once I felt like a whole person. She was my missing piece. My grease stained angel.


	10. Allies

"You're not alone. We'll brave this storm. Let's face today. You're not alone"

Carolyn - Black Veil Brides

Chapter Ten - Allies

I POV

I woke up several times in the night with nightmares of when I was little and found my parents. It was like my brain kept trying to make me remember something I had pushed away. Each time I woke up Edward was there with open arms and soothing kisses to my temple.

Around 6:30 I finally gave up on sleeping and decided to go make breakfast since we were headed to the office early to see Emmet. Edward had filled me in on the chatter his people had overheard about Swan. To say I was a bit shaken up about he whole thing was an understatement.

I snuck out of Edward's room and went in search for the kitchen. His house was huge and his kitchen was state of the art. A girl could get use to this kind of living. I checked the fridge and cabinets and found everything I needed to make blueberry pancakes and bacon.

I was just getting the bacon out of the frying pan when I felt strong arms wrap around me from behind. My nose was instantly filled with the glorious smell that was Edward.

"Hey there beautiful, I was worried when I woke up and you weren't there." He held me close to him and squeezed and relaxed his hands around my waste, moving my hair and kissing my shoulder.

"I couldn't sleep anymore and decided I would make you breakfast." I spun around in his arms resting mine on his shoulders. "I hope you like blueberry pancakes."

"They're my favorite actually and I see you found my bacon stash as well." He reached behind me and snagged a piece of bacon before I had a chance to stop him.

"Hey now save some for the cook, why don't you get us some plates and I'll start the dishwasher." I loved how easy it felt being here with him. When we found my apartment in shambles last night I wasn't sure how I would feel being here and him knowing everything. But it was actually quite refreshing. There were no secrets between us. I knew about his family and he knew my about mine.

"Alright sweetness, these smell delicious. You didn’t' say you could cook?" He grab a few plates and poured each of us a glass of orange juice.

"Yeah it was something me and my mom use to do when I was younger, then one of my foster parents was a cook at this little Italian restaurant and she taught me a lot. I can make a fantastic chicken alfredo."

"You were in the foster care system" He looked shocked and saddened by this.

"Oh, yeah well my parents were the only family I had so when they died I was sort of bounced around from home to home till I was 18."

"Izzy I am so sorry, I just figured you grew up with a relative, I never knew you were a foster kid."

"It's fine Edward it's not something I make known, in fact you’re the only person that knows. I never told Rose anything about my past just that my parents were dead and I moved back here. And if we don't have to tell Emmet that I would appreciate it."

"Izzy I won't tell Emmet, I just have one question though..if that's okay?" He looked over sheepishly.

I sighed and sat down across from him. "You can ask, but don't take it personally if I don't answer you."

"That's fair. Why don't like to talk about it though, did something happen?"

I took a big swig of my orange juice and contemplated answering him. "Edward there's something you have to understand. I wasn't really young when I lost my parents so I wasn't prime when it came to adoption and the homes knew this so they bounced me from one foster parent to the next. I was kind of used as their trial and error first time kid. Some places were really nice, and some places I was one of 7 kids and just tried to keep my head down. I moved around a lot and never made friends in school because it just hurt that much more when I was moved onto the next place. I went to 3 different high schools my senior year alone. I was just happy to turn 18 and graduate."

We ate the rest of our breakfast in silence after that. I didn't bother looking up at Edward even though I could feel his eyes on me. I didn't want to see the pity in his eyes. I didn't need it. I accepted my childhood and had moved past all of it. I finally finished my breakfast and got up to put my plate in the sink.

"Izzy?" Edwards voice was quite

"Yes Edward."

"I know you think that I pity you and that’s why you won't look at me but please Iz just come here for a few seconds."

I walked over and he grabbed both of my hands, forcing me to look at him.

"Look Izzy, I don’t pity you. I don't. I can see the hurt in your face and as much as you try to hide it I can see you miss your parents a lot. I just want to make you forget all the neglect you got growing up without them. I wasn't kidding when I told you how I felt last night, nothing has changed. You are beautiful and the most incredible person who I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. I just want to make you as happy as you make me." His eyes were shining with the devotion and determination that was in his words.

I couldn't help it, tears fell down my face. "Edward you make me happy. I knew from the first moment I saw you standing in the show room at the shop that you were something else. I had avoided any type of relationship for years just going through life until I met you. And the first time we kissed it was clear to me that I couldn't let you go. You're all I need, as long as I have you I am happy."

He stood up in front of me and took my face in both of his hands. He wiped the tears away with his thumbs and kissed my forehead, my cheeks and finally my lips. The kiss was filled with need and it deepened and we lost our selves in the moment. It wasn't until my phone started blaring from upstairs that we pulled away.

"I better get that it might be Aro." I was panting and trying to regain my balance.

"You go and I'll clean up down here, I'll be up in a few okay."

I raced up stairs finding my phone on the nightstand next to Edward's bed.

"Hello?"

"Hey Iz, are you coming in today?"

"Not till later Aro, someone broke into my apartment yesterday and I had to stay at a friend's last night."

"Shit Iz are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine I was with Edward when I came home last night."

"Okay Iz you don't have to come in if you don't want to there's not much going on just tuning up some bikes, but I do want to have a talk with you tomorrow. Tell Edward hi from me and let him know that his security system is working out great."

"Alright Aro, I'll see you tomorrow and I'll let Edward know."

"Bye Iz."

"Bye."

Edward came into the room shortly after, "Everything alright?"

"Hmm, yeah Aro said I didn't have to come in today and to tell you that the security system is working."

"Why do you look confused then?"

"He wants to talk to me tomorrow..Aro never does one on one meetings unless it's with a client."

"Hmm, well I'm sure it's nothing serious Iz. Now as much as I would like to carry on with our make out session from down stairs, Emmet just texted me that he was gonna head to the office soon, so we have to get going."

"Aww Damn and here I thought we had time for a quick steamy shower." I replied coyly.

"Why you little vixen" Edward tackled me to the bed and capture my mouth with his muffling my scream.

******************************************************************************

E POV

Izzy and me strolled out of the elevator and I lead her down the hall to my office. I could see Emmet passing back and forth from the here. We were an hour late meeting him and I knew he was an impatient person, but I couldn't care less about that.

"Hey Emmet sorry we're late we got caught up in traffic." Izzy tried to hid her face form Em's view. She was scarlet red and her lips were still slightly swollen from our morning.

"Mhmm traffic I'm sure." He tried to act mad but I could see the smirk forming on his lips. "Alright Izzy so what's this about your name being Swan and how does this have anything to do with the Black family."

Emmet always got straight to the point it was part of what made him such a good leader. He never bullshitted anyone and he made things clear and concise.

"Here Em sit down and I'll let Iz explain everything to you." We all sat down around my desk and Iz got to work.

She went into her same story she had relayed to me last night. Emmet looked grave and after an hour of looking through all the files Iz had his face was unreadable, like stone.

"Jesus Christ, you got all this from a bumper sticker? You put Edward's nerd skills to shame and he went to and Ivy league college for this stuff."

"Some of us are just born awesome I guess." She was back to her snarky self and I was glad.

"Hey now don't go filling your pretty little head with hot air."

Izzy gasped "Why I never!" I just smiled back as my response and she laughed and shook her head at me.

I could see Emmet out of the corner of my eye smiling at the two of us.

"Izzy you are something else I just gotta say."

She smiled and looked over at Em. "Thanks Em, you're not so bad yourself."

She worked easily with Em and me. We went over the files she had from the FBI to see if there was anything we could have missed as we tried to figure out everything about Izzy's mom's necklace.

We ordered lunch and had it delivered to the office. It was a few hours after that, that Emmet decided to call it a day. He downloaded the files to his flash drive and went back to his place to look over them tonight. Mom had called earlier in the day to let me know that the Emerald was definitely the one stolen from the Blacks.

Izzy was handling this all pretty well and I was proud at how strong she was being. I knew if it were anyone else they would have cracked under all the pressure or had a mental breakdown by now. Every so often she would squeeze my hand as if calming herself and then she would dive back in with Emmet.

I drove us back to my house and we had dinner and watched a few movies on Netflix before heading to bed.

She had fallen asleep cuddled into my side on the couch and I carried her up the stairs, still asleep in my arms. I set her down on the bed and took off her jeans and blouse. She was bushed and I slipped one of my shirts on her so she'd be comfortable. I then discarded my clothes from the day and decided on just boxers. I slipped into the bed next to her and wrapped my arms around my beautiful angel.


	11. Be Strong, Believe

"Think about the love inside the strength of heart. Think about the heroes saving life in the dark. Climbing higher through the fire, time was running out. Never knowing you weren't going to be coming down alive. But you still came back for me. You were strong and you believed. Everything is gonna be alright. Everything is gonna be alright. Everything is gonna be alright. Be strong. Believe. Be strong. Believe."

Believe - Yellowcard

Chapter Eleven - Be Strong Believe

I POV

I tried to keep myself calm and act as normal as possible. Just breathe Iz and just do what Edward and Emmet told you. I gave myself a mental pep talk and then I stepped out of the car. I walked into the club and sat down at the bar, ordering a beer and looked around.

This was not my scene but I needed to get Jake's attention somehow, so gathering up what little courage I had I downed my beer and headed out to the dance floor and began swaying my hips like I'd seen Rose do so many times. Focusing on the beat of the music.

It didn't take long before I felt a warm overwhelming body behind me. "Hey there gorgeous, what are you doing in these neck of the woods?" Jake said wrapping me in his big arms and joining me in my rhythm.

I spun around in his arms, I tried not to puke as I replied to him and hoping my voice came off as seductive. "Just looking for a good time, what about you big boy?"

Don't vomit Iz. Do. Not. Vomit!

I wanted to scream and run away. His mouth had a smirk written on it that spelt trouble and I felt completely uncomfortable and dirty in his arms. His eyes raked over my body and took in my extremely short black dress, his eyes stopping briefly on my cleavage before meeting mine. "Well in that case you found one, why don't we get out of here and have some real fun?"

I tried to smile back and leaned into him further. "What are we waiting for, lead the way." I kissed his neck and died on the inside.

He took my hand and lead me through the crowd and out the back door. As soon as we were out in the parking lot he wrapped me in his arms once more and began kissing my neck. I cringed.

"Hey asshole get your filthy paws off my girl." Edward came out of nowhere and stood directly behind Jacob.

Jake tensed at the sound of Edward's voice and I took the opportunity to get out from his grasp.

Jake turned around toward Edward with a menacing look upon his face. "Well as much as it pains me to say this Mason, she doesn't look to be your girl anymore, isn't that right.."

He didn't get the chance to finish that sentence before I pulled out the syringe from my purse and stuck him in the neck with a powerful tranquilizer.

"I am in a need of serious scalding hot shower." I said shivering. Edward let Jake fall flat on his face before he and Emmet dragged his body to the back of the car. I spun my head around making sure that no one had seen anything. Feeling like the coast was clear I walked towards the arms I truly wanted to be in all night.

"Hey baby girl, how are you ?" Edward was a sight for sore eyes. He had concern written all over him and I couldn't help but slip my arms around his neck and smile.

"Better now that I'm out of his grasp and in your arms." His smile was breathtaking.

"I know how you feel c'mon let's get out of here. Emmet you got this?" He tucked me into his side and headed toward the Chevy.

After a long hot shower and an even steamier make out session, I felt back to normal and clean. It had been a few hours since Emmet drove off with Jake passed out in the trunk and I was beginning to feel anxious.

Edward had told me about my mom's necklace and we tried to put the final pieces into place about my parents murder. We knew that Ephraim had sent men after Renee and the Emerald, but we couldn't figure out how she had it in the first place.

Emmet was the one who suggested getting answers from an inside source and against Edward's better wishes we came up with the plan to trap Jacob. I was basically the bate and that fact alone had Edward's pants in a bunch.

I needed answers and Edward wanted me safe so we got to work to get the last pieces of evidence from someone who was there that night. We were gonna send all the information and hopefully a confession to the FBI and let them take over the investigation and put the Black family behind bars once and for all.

It was a daunting task and Emmet and Edward were aware that some things about their own family might come to light, but Edward was willing to do whatever it took for me. He just didn't know that after this was all said and done his family wasn't going to have worry about any of that.

"Have you heard anything from Emmet?" I walk into Edward's office and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. He had his face in his hands with his laptop opened on the desk. I knew he was just as nervous as I was.

He relaxed a bit with my touch and sighed. "I just got off the phone with Emmet, he has one of his men Jasper working on him, but Jake is proving to be just as stubborn as ever. Emmet said it might take a few days to really wear him down, I'm sorry Iz."

"Edward we knew that this was going to take time, and I am willing to take as it needs in order to do it right. As long as I have you by my side I know things are going to turn out." I needed to show him how much it meant to me what he was doing.

"You are amazing, you know that right" He smiled and pulled me in his lap. It felt like home.

I gave him a small kiss on his lips. "Nah you’re the amazing one."

"Hey so I talked to my mom and she is insisting that I bring you to family dinner this next Sunday. I've missed the last few and she's been nice about the whole thing but I think she's one step away from showing up at my front door and stealing you away."

I had sort of moved in the night we found my apartment in shambles and I had every intention on finding my own place at first, but Edward wasn't hearing any of it. I really wasn't trying that hard to look for one anyway. We had a nice routine going between the two of us, mending our lives and work together was almost effortless. I went to the shop a few days a week and worked on paints. Edward would drive me and pick me up after her got off work. He was being overprotective but I didn't mind it, it meant more time with him. We would ride our bikes on the weekends with me sometimes riding on his with him.

Aro had also made me assistant manager you could say. He wanted to give me a raise for all the hard work I had been putting in the shop. Him and his brothers wanted me to take it over when they finally retired in a few years. I was surprised but welcomed the extra cash flow.

Edward had originally offered me the guest bedroom when I first got here but I never even got to use it. We spent our nights together in his room and after two weeks of living out of my suitcase in the other bedroom I woke up one day to find that he cleared out half his closet and dresser for my things. Even the adjoining bathroom had my makeup and shampoo in there. It was a small thing but it meant a whole new level in our relationship.

I loved the way he made me feel and after spending so much time with him I couldn't see myself living in my own place after this so I stopped looking completely and went about living with this handsome man.

"Well I guess we did kind of blow her off for the last few weeks. I know you miss seeing them."

"So you'll go?"

"Of course Edward, I mean we do live together so I would say that it's time I meet your family." He squeezed me close to him and kissed me.

"They're gonna love you, and I know this is kind of fast, but I love having you here and I don't want you to leave after all this."

"I sorta gave up looking for a place anyway, I love being here too." I never thought I would be the commitment type but somehow with Edward it was different. We were different.

That Sunday I was a nervous wreck. Rose came over and helped me pick out something to wear while Edward finished some things up at the office. "Iz would you calm the fuck out, they aren’t that bad. Hell they like me so there is no doubt that they will adore you."

"I know Rose but you don't live with Emmet, you guys are taking things slow. We just started really dating and now I'm already living with him." I hadn't told Rose all of the details because Emmet didn't want her getting involved and I was okay with that, but she knew something was going on.

"So what? It's the 21st century and Edward is head over heels for you, plus it's not like you meant for your apartment to be robbed." She was finishing curling my hair and I hated lying to her, but Emmet was right.

I sighed and fidgeted with my makeup. Rose let the last section down and after reapplying her lipstick we were ready to go.

The boys were waiting downstairs when we emerged and I was instantly calmer. He wrapped me up and gave me a chaste kiss. "You look beautiful, are you girls ready to go?"

I looked over at Rose and Emmet. Rose winked at me and I gave Edward a nod, not trusting my voice.

The drive there was short and I was glad that I had Rose by my side. I had on a cute turquoise blouse and black cardigan over it with a nice pair of jeans and some small booties. I wanted my tattoos covered up much to Edward's protests but I thought it would be best.

Their house was grand. It paled in comparison to anything I had seen before. It was old but well-kept after it was liking something from a movie.

We walked hand in hand to the front steps. I had barely stepped onto the first step when the big oak door creaked open and a short, beautiful auburn haired women stepped out.

"Carlisle they're here!" On cue a tall slender built blond walked out behind her. "Emmet, Rose how good to see you both again. Edward dear you came, is this Isabella?"

Edward wrapped his arm around me and moved us forward. "Mom, Dad this is Izzy or Iz for short. Hun, these are my parents Esme and Carlisle Cullen."

"It's good to meet you both"

"Oh the pleasure is all ours dear, Edward has told us so much about you. Come on in." Esme came and hugged me to her side as we walked in. "I can't believe it has taken my son this long to bring you over here."

I smiled at this odd little women beside me.

"Mom, you know why we didn't come, her apartment remember?"

Rose piped up at the mention of my apartment. "Oh Iz have the police found anything out about that?"

"Oh Rose you know how these things go, they haven't said anything yet. It's an ongoing.."

"Yeah yeah, ongoing investigation." She was annoyed with my response, but I couldn't risk coming up with a lie to tell her. She would see right through that.

"Edward you’re here! I missed you big brother!!" Just then a tiny black haired little thing came flying down the stairs crashing into Edward.

Emmet look slightly hurt. "Hey lil sis what about me?"

"Oh hush Em I see you all the time. Oh my gosh I am so rude, Hi I'm Alice." She walked over and gave me a hug.

"Hey Alice, I'm Izzy."

"Come on Iz, let's leave the boys alone and see what mom is cooking up"

We spent the next hour just us girls in the kitchen talking about everything under the sun. We talked about embarrassing school stories and tacky prom themes. It felt good to laugh about things and forget about the drama that was my life.

The conversations eased on into dinner and soon the boys joined in adding little stories here and there. The topic turned to Rose's tattoo of a humming bird behind her ear.

"Hey Iz do you have any" Alice was almost bouncing in her seat.

"Do I have any what?" I tried to act dumb

Rose rolled her eyes at me from across the table and Edward stretched his arm across the back of my chair. I looked over at him and he was smiling down at him. God how I wish I could kiss that smirk off his face. Damn him and his good looks.

"I said do you have any tattoos like Rose?"

"Oh yeah I have a few, what about you Alice?" I tried to change the subject back to her.

She wasn't having it though and instantly wanted to know more. "Oh no I could never make up my mind about one. So how many do you have, can we see em?"

"Honestly Alice I don't remember the exact number." I shifted and pulled at my cardigan making sure my shoulders were covered.

"Oh c'mon Iz, please?" Is she pouting at me? Damn this girl, I looked to Edward and he nodded his head telling me it was ok. So with a sigh I took off my Cardigan and moved my hair off my shoulders.

Alice got up instantly. "Oh wow these are gorgeous, so intricate. Did you draw them?" I looked over and even Esme and Carlisle seemed to be interested. 

"Yeah I drew them all out before I went and got them. I have a few on my thighs and one on my right foot as well" I loved my tattoos but I know not everyone approved of the idea of them. This was not the case with the Cullens.

"Dad has an eagle on his back and mom has an orchid flower on her side. Emmet even has a few but I could never make up my mind or find one that I really loved, but If I did I would so have one." She bounced back to her seat.

Edward leaned his head closer to me and whispered in my ear. "See love, I told you they were incredible." I leaned into him further.

Esme winked at me and I knew that I had nothing to hide from them. I helped clear the table with Esme while everyone headed into the living room. "Iz I wanted to say something while I have you to myself. "

"Oh?' I swallowed nervously.

"I know that things seem bleak right now, but I want you to know that if you ever need anything you can call me. I see the way you look at Edward and I can see that you've been through a lot in your life but hun, I know my son. He feels the same for you that you do for him, everything is going to be alright."

"Thank you Esme"


	12. Just Say It

"Take this to heart. I will never let you fuck me over. Stop talking down to me, your war is old. Your game is over, so here's my coldest shoulder."

Say It - Blue October

Chapter Twelve - Just Say It

I POV

I knew the ride to the warehouse was wearing on Edward. He hadn't spoken a word to me since I told him that I was going. It frustrated him that I wouldn't listen to him, but I needed answers and this was the only way Jacob was going to talk.

It was a few days after the dinner at his parents when Edward got a call from Emmet.

"Hey Eddie I'm not getting anywhere with this guy."

"Emmet hey it's Iz, the phones on speaker. What do you mean he won't talk?" I tried to keep my voice calm. If this didn't work I had no Idea how we were going to find out the truth.

"Oh hey Iz..Hold on.."

I could hear scuffling coming from the receiver and muted voices. "I said shut it you dog, I am on the phone.." "Did you say Izzy? IZZY IF YOU WANT TO KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT YOUR FILTHY MOTHER, ABOUT RENEE, YOU WILL TALK TO ME!" There was more scuffling and a yelp and my stomach felt like it was in my throat. 

Edward looked like he was going to murder something. He was still silent and frozen like a statue. "Emmet did you tell him anything about my parents?"

"What no Izzy. I've just been trying to get information about how he knew who you were. I haven't told him anything about you or your parents.."

"That's it. I'm coming to meet you. Don't do anything till Edward and I get there." I hung up the call with Emmet. At that Edward shot his head to me.

"Like hell you are!" He stood up from his desk and looked me dead in the face.

I looked back at him with just as much fury. He was not going to tell me what to do. Not this time. "Oh yes I am. You do no get a say in what I do or don't do Edward."

He was fuming mad. His nostrils were flaring and his breathing was ragged. "Izzy, I can not let you near this monster. It was pushing it when you Emmet teamed up on me about trapping him. I will not let you get hurt. Absolutely not." He ran his hand through his hair and I thought he was going to tear it out.

"Look Edward I get that you want me protected. But you forget I have been searching my entire adult life for answers and I haven't let anything stop me before and I am sure as hell not going to let some Clyde Gangster want-to-be get in my way now."I was shaking with rage. I wanted nothing more than to stick his superman facade up his ass.

He needed to know that he did not own me. "It's not like I'm going there alone. Emmet will be there as well as Jasper. And It would mean a lot to me if you would come with me. I need answers Edward. And if this is how we are going to get them, then so be it. Now I am going to change and then I'm heading out. If you are coming with me then meet me in the car." I left him in his study to think things through.

We had never fought before and it was strange to be in this predicament. I got into the Impala and started the engine. I was about to throw the car in reverse when the passenger side door opened and Edward got in.

"I knew you would see it my way." He hmmphed at me in response.

Now we were pulling up to an abandoned warehouse on the Upper West side of Chicago and I was nervous as hell. With a deep breath I shut off the engine and stepped out of the car. Edward got out and walked around to the driver's side and pulled me into a hug.

"I'm sorry I am so stubborn. I just can't imagine anything happening to you Izzy. I need you to be safe. I will be right there, but please don't get near him. I know Emmet has him tied up pretty tight and Jasper is watching the camera's, but please. Please Izzy be careful."

"I will Edward." He squeezed me tight and kissed my forehead. We separated from each other's arms but kept our hands intertwined.

Jacob looked like he went through a meat grinder. His face was cut up, bloody and swollen. I almost didn't recognized the big brute until his mouth opened up. "Oh Izzy, you came for me. How nice of you. Emmet here hasn't been a good host and his antics were starting to bore me."

I put up my mask. The one I wore to hide all emotion. "That sounds like a fucking personal problem there Jacob. Perhaps if you would have been a little more forth coming with certain information you'd be in better shape."

He hissed at my words, spitting blood on the concrete floor. "Perhaps, Isabella Marie."

"Get with it Jacob, how the fuck do you know who I am and what do you know about Renee?" I leaned back against Edward's chest with my arms folded over my own. I looked unamused. My outer being showing none of the screaming and chaos that was going on in my head. 

"Ah, yes Renee. I bet you didn't know that dear old Mumsie used to be one of the elite in our ranks did you?"

I shook my head no and motioned him to continue.

"No, well she was Ephraim's favorite little pet. You see when Renee was younger she was quite the spitfire. So much so that her parents got tired of her and tossed her out. She was quite the free spirit and that got my grandfather's attention. She needed money and was in deep with a bookie. She couldn't pay it back so my grandfather, being the generous man he was, offered her a deal. She would work for him and in return she would work off her debt in full. Well fast forward a few years deary and good old Renee was getting tired of the mob life. She wanted out. At this point in time she was in charge of all our transactions. She kept the book on what was being shipped, where it was going, and what time it was arriving. Renee went to Ephraim and asked to be released from her contract saying she had more than paid off her debt to him and just wanted to live a normal life and settle down. Ephraim refused her, no one stops working for him until he says so or in the case of their demise. This pissed your mother off to no end. I was a little one when Renee worked for my grandfather and she was often at our house going over the books. I knew her when she decided to do the dumbest thing in her miserable life."

He coughed up blood and spat it on the ground and winced at the pain that action caused him. I snickered in response because he looked like total shit. It was refreshing to see him like this , instead of the overly cocky player he was.

He took a few deep breathes and continued on. "You see she knew that Ephraim's mining company over in Egypt had dug something magnificent up and was having it shipped to the states for him. She coordinated the arrival, but this time she didn't write down any specific information in the books. She wrote down a false trail and transaction of the Emerald. She took our most prized possession and ran with it. That bitch."

That caused Emmet to hit him the face again. "You piece of shit, watch your fucking mouth." I nodded my thanks to Em.

Jake just laughed at Emmet and looked back to me. "As I was saying, my grandfather was absolutely pissed off and spent countless men and money trying to track her down to no avail. She was sneaky and knew how our system worked. She had the upper hand it seemed. It was by mere coincidence that she was eventually spotted." Jake had a wicked smile on his face as he continued his little tale.

"I had just turned 18 and wanted to get my hands in the family business, so my dad had sent me out to deliver some weapons up north to our Canadian alleys. I was taking the back roads through Washington and stopped in this tiny little town called Forks. I was hungry and decided to stop at a local diner. When in walks this small little brown haired girl with her overly familiar women. It wasn't until the waitress called her Renee that I put the dots together. I had just won the jackpot when it came to proving myself to the family. I called in directly to Ephraim Black that I had found Renee. He ordered me to stay put where I was and keep track of her. So I watched the house and took notes on Renee's movements. I was on my way to meet with my father Billy, when I got pulled over by the Chief of Police, your father and Renee's husband. I couldn't fuck things up so I ditched the car and called the family and told them that it was time to take down the traitor."

My head was reeling with everything that he had told us. It was all Jake's fault that my parents were dead. His voice pulled me out of my ranting session in my head.

"I do have one question Isabella."

My voice was laced with venom. "What could you possibly want to know Jacob?"

He tilted his head to the side while looking at me. "How did you survive? We went through that house top to bottom and didn't find a damn thing. Not the Emerald and certainly not you. I had been watching the house so I know that no one left the house from the time you all got home to the time we barged in. Your mother and father weren't very forthcoming with information either. I rather did enjoy seeing the face Renee had when Felix killed the Chief. "

I laughed at him. I straightened myself up and walked right up to the monster that destroyed my life and looked him dead in the eyes. "Wouldn't you like to fucking know. I will say this, green is definitely my color." I smirked and made my way over to Emmet. I unhooked his pistol from his shoulder harness, took off the safety, clocked it and shot Jacob Black right between the eyes before Emmet or Edward even had time to react.

Emmet was stunned almost speechless. "Fuck."

Edward just looked from me to Jake and back again. His mouth was wide open. I put the safety back on and put the gun back in its holster before walking towards the door. I stepped outside and breathed in the fresh air. Closing my eyes, trying to clear my head.

I hadn't heard Edward come outside, but I felt him step behind me. "Sweetheart are you alright?"

I sighed and took one last deep breathe before turning toward him. "I will be."

******************************************************************************

No one ever spoke about that day again. Emmet and Jasper disposed of his body while Edward and I headed back to the house. When word got back to the Black family that Jacob had been killed, it was all out chaos. The Black's couldn't pin it on the Cullen family, though I'm sure Ephraim and Billy had their suspicions. Apparently Jake had many enemies and had been causing a heap of trouble, so there were no severe repercussions toward the Cullen's.

When Edward and I got back to the house I didn't say a word to him. I grabbed my laptop and stowed away in the spare bedroom for a few days. Only coming out to use the restroom, shower or eat. Edward would knock on the door and ask if I needed anything, but I just shooed him away each time.

I didn't want him knowing what I was doing. Which was highly illegal and when it came down to it I wanted him to have plausible deniability. Edward knew that I was a smart cookie when It came to computer's but he had no idea. I was going through every government and police files deleting anything that was linked back to his family. Wiping out the C.I.A. and F.B.I. databases were a piece of cake. It was going through each state's databases that took the longest. It was a simply algorithm that I had written, but it still took time to fully wipe out the Cullen and Mason name from any wrongdoing. While that was at work I gathered up all the information regarding the Black's and my parents murder and laid out all the bread crumbs in a neat little row, so the authorities couldn't get lost. I emailed the files to the proper authorities, it was all up to them now. 

I knew I would never get close enough to Ephraim Black to do anything to him personally, but that didn't meant that he couldn't rot behind bars for the rest of his miserable life. After about a week I finally emerged from the guest bedroom. I showered and put on a pair of jeans and old t-shirt and headed downstairs.

I found Edward on the back deck. He had a drink in his hand and was leaning over the railing. He must have been in deep thought because he didn't hear the back door open or close. He jumped slightly when I wrapped my arms around his waist. I had missed him desperately. I inhaled his fresh smell. "Hey"

He turned around in my arms while setting his glass down on the rail. "Hey yourself"

I ran my hands up his chest and locked them around his neck finally looking into those gorgeous green pools. "I'm sorry."

"What could you possibly be sorry for beautiful?" His brows pulled together in worry. He put his hands on my hips.

I sighed and hid my face in the crook of his neck. "I'm sorry for..well..everything. I'm sorry that I got your family involved with all of this. I'm sorry for shutting you out. I am just sorry. I know this is way more drama than you could ever want to deal with…"

I didn't get to finish before Edward tilted my chin up and kissed me. It was filled with so much longing and need that I didn't hesitate when I felt his tongue flicker at my bottom lip. I opened my mouth completely and a moan escaped when our tongues met. It was pure bliss tasting Edward on my lips. What started out as a pure kiss quickly escalated.

My hands pulled on his hair causing a moan of his own and he reached down and grab my legs and hitched them up over his hips. His hand spread out on my ass pulling us closer. I pulled away from his mouth just to trail open mouthed kisses down his neck. He took the opportunity to make it into the house.

I was eventually set down on a soft bed with a dark eyed Edward looming over me. I reached down to his sides and grabbed his shirt. He pulled back to rip it off over his head, discarding it behind him on the floor. He swiftly removed mine and began sweet kisses down my neck while he palmed my breasts. My back arched off the bed at his touch.

"Please Edward, more. I need you." I began undoing the buckle of his pants.

"Yes love. I know" We were both panting while we continued kissing and removing the little clothing that was left.

I cried out when Edward slipped through my folds, filling me completely. No words were said as we made love all through the night. We both needed to get lost in each other.

It was early morning when I looked out the window and saw the sun coming up. I was laying on Edward's chest our feet still tangled together. He was drawing designs on my back. Trailing his fingers from my shoulders down my spine.

"Promise me something love." His voice was soft and barely audible.

I turned my head to look at him, propping my chin on his chest. "Anything Edward."

His eyes were swimming with emotion. "Don't shut me out like that again. I don't think I could survive it again."

I reached up and kissed him. "I promise. I don't think I could bare it again either. I love you and I'm not going anywhere I'm sorry I hid from you, but I had to. I needed to do something and get my head focused."

"I love you too my tattooed angel."


	13. The Finale

"When the world falls into pieces, you'll be the one voice of reason. When I can't face all my demons, you are the one I believe in. Through the thunder and the rain. Together we fall, together we fly away"

Queen of Hearts- We The Kings

Chapter Thirteen - The Finale

I POV

We fell asleep in each other's arms till the early afternoon. When Edward's phone began ringing from the pocket of his pants, which had been discarded on the floor. I groaned when he slid me off him so he could get up. "I'm sorry baby girl I gotta get it or they are just going to keep calling."

I rolled over and sat up pulling the sheets with me. Edward had put on a his boxers and was pulling his phone out of his jeans pocket. "Yeah Emmet what's up?..Wait hold on."

He walked around the bed to the nightstand and grabbed the remote.

"Breaking News. Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, this just in Ephraim Black and his son were arrested this morning on several charges. The Black family has many ties to the Seattle area, and are known for their lethal force. According to several sources the Black family has dealings with gun and drug trafficking in and out of the US for the past few decades. It is not confirmed at this time who or how the information was given to the Feds. We will keep you updated as this proceeds, thank you.."

Edward turned toward me, his face in complete awh. "Iz, did you have something to do with this?"

"Yes", I sighed in response. "Why don't you tell everyone one to meet at your parents' house, then I'll explain everything."

"Izzy.."

"Just call them, please Edward."

After staring at me for a few minutes he then called his parents to let them know to get everyone to the house. We both got dressed in complete silence. I knew he was trying hard not to ask me a million questions. The car ride over was just as silent, Edward was almost brewing at this point. The crease on his forehead deepening.

We let ourselves in and made our way to the living room where everyone was seated listening to the news report. I cleared my throat to let them know we were there. They were all glued to the Television screen.

"You've all heard the news I'm guessing."

Carlisle looked to Edward for answers but Edward just shook his head in return.

"Edward doesn't know anything Carlisle, It was all me."

"What exactly did you do Iz?" Emmet spoke from the couch.

I took a deep breath and made my way to the TV and shut it off. "Em, I can't tell you that."

"The Hell You Can't! This is my family's lives you are messing with!"

"No. Emmet your family has nothing to worry about. Please don't ask me how or why because I won't tell you. What you can know is that you all have nothing to worry about, ever. The Cullen and Mason name have been cleared. There is nothing for you guys to fear. You can all sleep well knowing this much, The Black family and anyone who works for them will be spending a long miserable life behind bars."

"Izzy what did you do?.." Alice looked almost pained.

Carlisle stood up and faced his family, Isabella has chosen not to tell us the specifics, but I trust her to know that when she says we have nothing to worry about, then we have nothing to worry about." He walked over and hugged me deeply, whispering in my ear so no one could hear, "Thank you".

I simple nodded at him.

"Alright everyone to the kitchen, I have breakfast ready for everyone." Esme ushered out, just leaving me and Edward.

He hadn't moved from where he stood gripping the back of the couch with his head down. "Izzy, I don't know if I'll be ever to repay you," He looked up. His eyes were swimming with emotion. I couldn't stand it any longer, I walked up to him and wrapped him in my arms and hiding my face in the crook of his neck. "I love you so much Isabella Swan."

"I love you too."

********************************Six Months Later****************************************

E POV

"Hey sweetheart have you seen my green silk Tie?" It was the last day to the Black family trial and we were headed to the courthouse to hear the verdict.

"It's hanging in the bathroom on the back of the shower door!" Iz yelled from downstairs. She was absolutely incredible. Though she would never admit to it fully, we all knew she was the one who sent the Feds the file on the Black family. She also had something to do with the fact that my family's not so shiny past had been erased. We were free to live a completely legal life from here on out. Like I said she was incredible.

I quickly put my tie on and headed down the stairs hopping the last few. "Ready to go Angel?"

"After you handsome."

The courtroom was crowded to the point of people being forced to stand in the back, but my family had saved us two seats by them.

The judge came out and called the room to order, "Will the jury please read the verdict."

A middle aged women stood up and cleared her throat a few times before reading the slip of paper in her hands, "We the jury find the defendant Ephraim Black guilty on all accounts and the defendant Billy Black also guilty on all accounts."

The courtroom exploded in applause and camera flashes.

"ORDER, ORDER IN THE COURTROOM! Now, the defendants have been found guilty on all charges and therefore will spend multiple life sentences in prison, without parole. Escort these gentlemen out of my court room." The judge hit his gavel and left the room, avoiding all the press.

My family got up to leave when we heard a voice from across the room, "Isabella Swan!" it was Ephraim. Izzy looked up to me and nodded her head, I walked to where Ephraim and Billy stood in handcuffs.

"What is you want Ephraim?" She knew how to put on a blank face, but I knew she was nervous. All she wanted was this man to be behind bars so she could sleep at night, peacefully.

"You are quite the spitfire aren’t you darling. I just have to know, how did you do it swan."

"Do what Black?"

"Don't play games with me child! I know that you had something to do with all of this! Where is the Damn Emerald Isabella!!"

She smiled coyly. "You and your family did this to themselves. As for the Emerald, I don't know what you are referring to, but I must say my mom had impeccable taste didn't she?" Izzy moved her hair from her shoulders and revealed her mother's necklace proudly. She slid into my side and we both walked away leaving Ephraim steaming mad and screaming at the top of his lungs.

ISABELLA SWAN! ISSSSAABEELLLLAAAA!!!

Later that evening I had made reservations at our favorite restaurant, La tua cantante. We hadn't gone here since our first date almost a year ago.

"Have I told you how much I love this car?" She looked completely content relaxed against the old leather seat of my Impala.

I smirked, "No Miss Swan, you haven't."

"Mmm, yes I adore this car almost as much as I adore the driver." She bit her bottom lip and faced me.

"Is that so, Lucky bustard. I envy him. " She laughed and my breath caught at the glorious sound. She had been quiet since the news broke about the Blacks. It was nice to see her smile and laugh again.

"So where are you a taking me tonight Edward?"

"You'll see love."

After ten minutes or so we pulled up to the restaurant. I heard Izzy gasp when she realized where we were. "Oh Edward."

"C'mon love let's go inside" She locked her arm in mine and we walked inside. We were seated almost immediately and Palo was our waiter again.

Izzy looked so damn beautiful in her dark red dress. I was trying to maintain my breathing the whole night.

Keep it together Cullen. Breathe in, breathe out.

Between her laughter and that damn one shouldered dress, it was hard to not just up and pop out the question.

When we had finished our meals I paid the bill while Iz excused herself to the restroom. As I waited for her I patted my inside pocket for the millionth time to make sure It was still there.

"Edward if you keep pacing like this I believe you will wear a hole in poor Palo's carpet." Izzy giggled.

I laughed with her. She was right I needed to calm down or I was going to blow this. "Would like to take a walk with me?"

"Absolutely."

I lead her down the walk to a small pond around back. They had a lovely garden and fountains out here, along with twinkling lights. She walked to the a bridge that overlooked a small gathering of swans.

"This place is beautiful Edward."

"Almost as beautiful as you." She shook her head and smiled. I took both her hands in mine and knelt down on one knee. "Oh Miss Swan what can I do to make you see your beauty as I do? You are the most gorgeous creature that my eyes have ever beheld. These past months have been torture, not seeing you smile and laugh as you should. I love you Isabella Marie Swan. I promise to spend every day of our lives telling you how beautiful you are and how much I adore you. Will you please do me the honor of taking me as you husband?"

As if she could be any more beautiful, her smile light up her entire face as she whispered "Yes," and a little louder, "A thousand times YES!"

Wait, She said yes. SHE SAID YES!!

I wrapped my arms around her waist and lifted her up and spun us around. She reached down to my face and placed the deepest kiss. It was so full of love, love for me and our future together. If I were any less of a man I would have passed out from the happiness I felt.

Isabella Marie Swan, soon to be Cullen, the love of my life. My tattooed, grease stained, Angel.

THE END


End file.
